Seven emerging composers chosen for 2010 Minnesota Orchestra
Composer Institute
Composers will travel to Minneapolis for Orchestra’s
acclaimed professional training program; Institute runs from
October 24 to 30, highlighted by October 29 Future Classics
concert
(July 8, 2010) -- Seven emerging composers have been selected
as participants in the Minnesota Orchestra’s tenth annual
Composer Institute, Institute Director Aaron Jay Kernis
announced today. Chosen from a pool of 168 candidates through a
competitive process, the composers represent four nationalities
and reside throughout the U.S., and their works encompass a
variety of musical styles. They will be in Minneapolis from
October 24 to 30, 2010, for rehearsals, seminars and tutoring
sessions, as well as a public concert of their works on Friday,
October 29, led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä.
The participants are Taylor Brizendine of Los Angeles,
California; Chinese-born Wang Jie of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
Russian-born Polina Nazaykinskaya of Austin, Texas; Clint
Needham of Bloomington, Indiana; Ben Phelps of Los Angeles,
California; Thailand native Narong Prangcharoen of Kansas City,
Missouri; and David Weaver of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“We received dozens of exceptionally-crafted scores, which
made the final choices difficult,” says Kernis, who chaired the
selection panel. “The high quality of submissions confirms what
we know from past Composer Institutes: the future of new
orchestral music is vibrant and strong.” Other panel members
included composers Augusta Read Thomas, Bright Sheng and Stacy
Garrop—a Composer Institute alumnus—as well as the Orchestra’s
Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis.
Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute: Acclaimed
program enters tenth year
The Orchestra’s Composer Institute, co-presented with the
American Composers Forum in cooperation with the American Music
Center, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional
training programs for emerging symphonic composers. The
Institute, directed by Kernis, is an outgrowth of the
Orchestra’s Perfect Pitch program, an annual series of new music
reading sessions for Minnesota composers launched during the
1995-96 season. Many of the 93 composers who have previously
taken part in Perfect Pitch and the Composer Institute have gone
on to receive major commissions, awards, grants and additional
performances of their works.
More on the 2010 Composer Institute participants
Taylor Brizendine has written for many mediums, including
prepared piano, brass ensemble, orchestra and string quartet.
His music has been performed by such ensembles as the California
Institute of the Arts Chamber Orchestra and Oregon Pro Arte
Youth Chamber Orchestra. He studies composition and bassoon at
the California Institute of the Arts. The Orchestra will
perform his Mandragora Officinarum.
Wang Jie is the 2009 winner of the
prestigious Underwood Emerging Composers Commission, which will
enable her to have a Carnegie Hall premiere with the American
Composers Orchestra. Her music has also been showcased by the
New York City Opera, New Juilliard Ensemble, Rock School for
Dance Education and other institutions. She studied at the
Manhattan School of Music and Curtis Institute. The Orchestra
will perform her Symphony No. 1.
Polina Nazaykinskaya attended the Music Academic
Gymnasium and Moscow State Conservatory Music College in her
native Russia, then continued studies at the Yale School of
Music. She has won several composition competitions, and her
music has been performed at festivals including the Music
Academy of the West, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Cadiza
Festival in Spain. The Orchestra will perform her Winter
Bells.
Clint
Needham’s music has been heard throughout the U.S. at
prominent festivals and venues, including Carnegie Hall, the
Aspen Music Festival, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
and Music Educators National Conference. He has been
commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and New York
Youth Symphony, among other ensembles. He earned degrees at
Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory and Indiana University, where he is
now a doctoral fellow. The Orchestra will perform his The
Body Electric.
Ben
Phelps’ many projects include The Mysterious Adventures
of Johnny Crumb, a multimedia theater piece—for which he
wrote the story, book and music—that was premiered by Los
Angeles’ Rogue Artist Ensemble. He holds degrees from the
University of California, Los Angeles, and he is now a doctoral
student at the USC Thornton School of Music. In addition to
composing, he is also an active percussionist and has premiered
many of his works for marimba. The Orchestra will perform his
Overture Maximus.
Narong
Prangcharoen has won many international composition
prizes, and his music has been performed across four continents
by such ensembles as the Tokyo Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony
and Melbourne Symphony. He is the founder of the Thailand
Composition Festival, and he has been named a Contemporary
National Artist by the Thai government, which granted him the
prestigious Silapathorn Award. The Orchestra will perform his
Namaskar.
David Weaver is a composer and sound artist who has
also pursued a career in science; he has studied at Swarthmore
College and Cornell University. His works include orchestral
and chamber music, as well as electronic music and other
sound-art endeavors. The Orchestra will perform his Mutatis
Mutandis.
In addition to the seven composers chosen to participate in
the Composer Institute, the panel designated the following
applicants as runners-up: Michael Djupstrom, Max Giteck Duykers,
Irving Feng-Hsu Lee, Michael Gilbertson, Tomas Ignacio
Gueglio-Saccone, Robert Honstein, Daniel Nelson, Christopher
Trapani and Nicholas Vines. Cited for honorable mention are:
Karl Blench, Sung Hong, Ann Millikan, Andreia Pinto-Correia and
Evan Ware.
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The 2010 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute is
generously sponsored by The Amphion Foundation,
The ASCAP Foundation, the BMI Foundation, The
Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Catherine L. and Gerald B.
Fischer, the Jack and Linda Hoeschler Fund of The Saint
Paul Foundation, Hella Mears Hueg and Bill Hueg,
F. Bruce and Diana Lewis, the National Endowment for
the Arts, David and Judy Ranheim, and Frederick E.
and Gloria B. Sewell.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Public Relations
(612) 371-5628 • gpappas@mnorch.org
Sandi Brown, Public Relations Coordinator
(612) 371-5641 • sbrown@mnorch.org
