The American Prize wishes everyone safety and health during this difficult time.
The American PrizeNational Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and citation recipients of
The American Prize in Composition, 2019-20, opera/theater/film/dance division. Congratulations!
Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog
. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.
QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to
semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All
finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.
REMINDER: Because of the current national and international situation, many rules have been changed and requirements eased to make it easier to apply for The American Prize 2020-21, In addition, we will accept applications from CLASSICAL VOCALISTS, PIANISTS, CHAMBER ENSEMBLES and INSTRUMENTAL SOLOISTS postmarked or emailed by the new extended deadline date of Monday, June 23, 2020. Applications from COMPOSERS, CONDUCTORS, STAGE DIRECTORS, CONDUCTED ENSEMBLES, ARTS MARKETERS and in the performance of American Music (BACON AWARD) will be accepted until Monday, July 20, 2020. Visit
theamericanprize.org for complete contest information.
Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.comThe American Prize in Composition—(opera/theater/film/dance) professional division, 2019-20The American Prize winner:Zach Redler
Greenwich CT
The Falling and The Rising ![]() |
| Zach Redler |
Zach Redler is a music theater composer whose work has been performed in concert halls, opera houses and theaters around the world. Ben Brantley of the New York Times said, Zach’s “music becomes a character that both connects and divides the others." In 2014, the American Theatre Wing awarded him the Jonathan Larson Grant. Some of his favorite theater compositions are: The Memory Show, Movin’ Up In The World, Loving Leo, Windows, A Song for Susan Smith, ADAM, and, his most recent American Prize award winning piece, The Falling and The Rising (libretto by Jerre Dye). Currently, he is working on a chamber opera commission for Houston Grand Opera (Dye), a new piece for Opera Memphis (Dye), and a piece for Opera on the James with text by young poets. He is adjunct faculty at NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program, a part-time AP Music Theory teacher at Greenwich Academy, a private music, yoga, and meditation teacher, loves cooking plant based meals for his family, and enjoys running ultramarathons. Love to his wife Brittney and two children, Henry and Ellis.
2nd Place: Eva Conley Kendrick
Millis MA
Misfortune ![]() |
| Eva Conley Kendrick |
Eva Conley Kendrick writes in many mediums including opera, musical theatre, chamber music, song cycles and orchestral works. Awards include the Judith Lang Zaimont Prize from the International Alliance of Women in Music, 17 ASCAPLU$ awards, and grants from the American Composers Forum and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She received an Honorable Mention from in The American Prize in the Opera/Theater Division and was a Semi-Finalist in the Chamber Music Division. Dramatic works include four short operas, three musicals and Emily, a chamber opera about Emily Dickinson. Operatic collaborations include Boston Opera Collaborative, Thompson St. Opera Company and Gateway Opera. She is the Music Director of First Parish Medfield; Professor of Voice and Music Theory at Dean College, and Director of the Eva Kendrick Voice Studio. She holds a Masters of Music in Composition with Distinction from the Longy School of Music. For more, please visit
www.evakendrick.com.
3rd Place:Wallace De Pue, Sr.
Bowling Green OH
Something Special (a Barbershop Quartet Opera)![]() |
| Wallace De Pue, Sr. |
Wallace Earl De Pue was born October 1, 1932, in Columbus, Ohio. At Ohio State University High School, Wallace studied oil painting. He also learned about script writing and wrote a series of radio shows that were broadcast over local radio. In addition, he wrote his first operetta libretto and also composed music for his class graduation ceremony. Capital University accepted Wallace De Pue where he completed two bachelor degrees within five years, one in music education (BME) and another in music composition (BM). At Ohio State University, he completed a Master of Arts degree (MA). He earned a Ph.D. in music composition and theory at Michigan State University. Dr. H. Owen Reed was his major professor. High school choral music positions in Leetonia, and Dover, Ohio, respectively, provided Wallace De Pue with teaching experience. His next position was as Curator of Music at The Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo, Ohio). In 1966, he joined the faculty of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Three of his operas have been produced:
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, (recorded on cassette by Oceans Records, Los Gatos, CA.),
Something Special (televised several times and seen on Youtube.com), and
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (performed numerous times).
The Wonderful Witch of Oz, his new opera, is aimed at pre-school children and is written on the subject of ecology. Dr. De Pue has won consecutive ASCAP awards for more than 26 years. Dr. De Pue’s works have won awards at both the state national, international, and world-wide levels. In 2014, he won the “Gold Medal” award of the Boston Metro Opera.
Since 1998, Wallace De Pue has been a Professor Emeritus from Bowling Green State University. Currently, he is directing his own ASCAP licensed publishing company, Picardie Court Publications. Compositions are for the following media: Choral works (all vocal combinations, a cappella and accompanied); orchestral and band works; pieces for two-to-four violins, some accompanied by piano; songs for all voice qualities (some with piano accompaniment); keyboard works (piano, organ, hammer dulcimer, and harpsichord); solo percussion works; instrumental solos and ensembles, and the aforementioned operas.
Dr. De Pue authored
Creative Music Theory Skills, a book concerning beginning music theory for potential composers. His textbook was used successfully at Bowling Green State University.
Finalist Honorable Mention: Richard Chiarappa
West Hartford CT
Lincoln and Booth: The Concert Musical![]() |
| Richard Chiarappa |
Richard Chiarappa is the founding music director of the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra (WHSO.org). He was formerly the music director of the Bristol Symphony Orchestra from 1991-2002.
His music has been performed by professional, community and school orchestras as well as by bands and choruses. Many of his pieces are for sale on JWPepper.com and his Clear Mud Publishing website, CMPUB.com. The following symphony orchestras have performed Chiarappa’s music: Rockford SO, Cape Cod SO, Southern Illinois SO, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Gulf Coast SO, Pacific SO, Arlington SO, and the South Bend SO.
Now part-time to devote time to composing and guest conducting, Mr. Chiarappa has been a full-time faculty member since 1979 at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford. He is a member of ASCAP, the Dramatists Guild, CMEA, NAfME, as well as the League of American Orchestras and Conductors Guild.
Finalist Honorable Mention: Judith Lynn Stillman
Providence RI
Small Step, Giant Leap: A Lunar Fantasy![]() |
| Judith Lynn Stillman |
Judith Lynn Stillman holds Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Juilliard. Hailed by Wynton Marsalis as “remarkable, a consummate artist." Winner 18 competitions, Pell Award in the Arts; Artist-in-Residence and Professor at Rhode Island College, and an internationally-renowned composer, pianist, choral conductor.
Stillman's compositions have received extensive national media coverage: "breathtaking masterpiece,""Stillman's true genius shines... she reaches for the stars and succeeds brilliantly...transports us through darkness toward life and growth,""startlingly beautiful musical score."
World premieres at Lincoln Center, highlights include Marlboro, Tanglewood, Grammy's honoring Rostropovich, Artist-in-Residence in China, Russia, Czech Republic, Beijing's Central Conservatory, Prague Conservatory, Royal Conservatoire. Collaborators include Wynton Marsalis (duo album, SONY), Mark O'Connor, Richard Stoltzman, Herbie Hancock (BOSE commercial), members of NY Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Borromeo, Cassatt, Shanghai Quartets.
As composer-filmmaker, winner Best Score, Best Multimedia Film, Best Music Video, Audience Choice Awards in international film festivals in NYC, LA and in the UK.
https://judithlynnstillman.comThe American Prize in Composition—(opera/theater/film/dance) student division, 2019-20The American Prize winner:Raphael Lucas
Dix Hills NY
Confessions![]() |
| Raphael Lucas |
Multidisciplinary and transversal artist, Raphaël LUCAS was recognized as a "major talent, with an excellent technique and a remarkable melodic gift" by the American composer Gunther Schuller. He is currently artist in residence at the Abbaye de Sylvanès in Aveyron, France. His most recent works include a vocal piece for 8 voices a cappella Hymne on a text by French author Mathias Enard premièred in August. He’s currently working on an oratorio commissioned by the Abbaye de Sylvanès on the life of Russian 14th century’s figure Sergey Radoneghzky to be premiered in July 2020.
Premiered in April 2009, his one-act opera
Confession received the 2010-2012 prize for best contemporary chamber opera, awarded by the National Opera Association. It has received three university productions, the most recent of which took place in March 2019 at the Westchester Performing Arts Center (NY), performed by the Purchase Opera company and the Purchase Symphony Orchestra (State University of New York college at Purchase). In September 2011, the label Albany Records (United States) released the first commercial recording of
Confession in its full symphonic version, conducted by Hugh Murphy. The American Record Guide magazine wrote: "His style is lush, but does not try to pretend that the twentieth century did not exist. There are shifting harmonies, a striking orchestration and an elegant tension between darkness and beauty." His composition works also include a song cycle for baritone and piano on a selection of poems by Federico García Lorca (2012) as well as an electronic music piece, John In The Woods (2011). Raphaël Lucas was born in Sète, France, in 1983.
2nd Place:Calvin Hitchcock
Chesapeake VA
819: based on the Stanford Prison Experiment ![]() |
| Calvin Hitchcock |
Described by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review as “impressive,” and having “a fine ear for sonority,” Calvin Hitchcock (b. 1995) is a composer and performer currently based in New York City. Fascinated by the human condition and our innate affinity for polarization, his work explores bridging the gap between audience and the stage, often challenging perceptual paradigms through narrative, religious subversion, and interdisciplinary integration. He has worked with ensembles such as the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Longleash, Great Noise Ensemble, and the Beo String Quartet, and participated in festivals such as Denison University’s TUTTI Music Festival and the Charlotte New Music Festival/Dance Co-Lab. Calvin also works extensively in theatre and has received Kennedy Center recognition for his incidental work. Calvin received his Bachelors of Music in Composition from Cedarville University in southwest Ohio where he studied composition with Austin Jaquith, and piano with John Mortensen and Charles Clevenger.
www.soundcloud.com/calvin_hitchcock3rd Place:Hans Bridger Heruth
Liberty MO
A Certain Madness ![]() |
| Hans Bridger Heruth |
HANS BRIDGER HERUTH (b. 1997) is an award-winning composer whose music has been praised as “lovely and delicate” (The American Prize) and for having an “invigorating richness” (KC Metropolis). In addition, he is a conductor, pianist, singer, and violinist of distinction, pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the University of Missouri. As a composer, his works have been performed by many different ensembles, most notably the KC Vitas Chamber Choir, the Show-Me Opera Program, and Deviant Septet. His chamber opera, “A Certain Madness”, was premiered with great acclaim and to sold out houses – based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, critics raved “Sherlock Holmes has never sounded so good” (KBIA). His current projects include a new work entitled “Wytchkraft” for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gemma New. Heruth has studied composition with Stefan Freund, Ian David Coleman, Paul Seitz, and W. Thomas McKenney.
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Congratulations!
