The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up, citation recipients and honorable mentions of
The American Prize in Composition, 2021, in the orchestra divisions. 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.
Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com
The American Prize in Composition—music for orchestra (professional division), 2021
The American Prize winner: Ruihan Yang
Metuchen NJ
The Memory in the Strings
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| Ruihan Yang |
Dr. Yang Ruihan is an enthusiastic young female composer and pianist who embraces cultural crosscurrents. Her compositions have been performed in Europe, the United States, Russian and China, including United Nation, Lincoln Center in New York City, U.S.; the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Rachmaninov Music Hall in Moscow, Russia; the Shanghai International Music Festival in Shanghai, China, etc.
As a composer, Ruihan’s concert music compositions have been performed by the Russian National Orchestra, RU Symphony Orchestra, NYU Symphony Orchestra, JACK Quartet, Moscow New Music Ensemble, Symphonic Orchestra of Belgorod Philharmonic, etc. Her film scores have been nominated and awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, among others. She has won many international music composition competitions, including the second prized of Ravel Composition Competition(Maurice Ravel Foundation) in France, the second prize of the International Folk Instrument Composition Competition in the U.S., the first prize of Marion Tournon Branly Prize, nomination for P.E.O. international Scholar Award, etc.
As an educator, Ruihan have been teaching music theory and piano classes for more than 8 yeas. She teaches undergraduate Aural Skill and Orchestration classes at Rutgers University.
Ruihan holds a Ph.D. in composition from Rutgers University, a Master’s degree at New York University, and completed her Bachelor’s in Composition at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
The American Prize 2nd Place:
Christopher Thomas
Bend OR
Malheur Symphony (Symphony #1)
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| Christopher Thomas |
Chris Thomas is a composer for the concert hall, film, and theme parks. In 2019, his Malheur Symphony was the subject of his TED Talk, “Composing the Malheur Symphony: Finding Healing Through Bird Songs.” His works have been performed in Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House. In 2018, he premiered a series of concert works in Belgium, France, and Germany. Chris has dozens of works published through FJH Music, Wingert-Jones Publications, and Carl Fischer.
In film, Chris has worked as a composer, orchestrator, and conductor for television networks including ABC, FOX, CBS, and HBO. He composed music for the film Woman Rebel, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award. In the theme park industry, Chris has been the composer for Evermore Adventure Park, Knott’s Berry Farm, Dreamland (Margate, UK), Queen Mary Chill, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, and The VOID (VR experiences). More at www.christhomasmusic.com
The American Prize 3rd Prize (there was a three-way tie):
Sergio Bernal
Logan UT
Sonances for Strings
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| Sergio Bernal |
Colombian-born Sergio Bernal brings into his music his Latin American cultural roots as well as his extensive performance experience as an orchestral conductor. Currently Director of Orchestral Studies and Professor of Music at Utah State University, he holds a PhD in Composition from the University of Utah and conducting degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan. As a composer, Bernal explores the popular and folk idioms from Latin America. His works include “Arcano”, a concerto dedicated to folk and classical violinist Eddy Marcano, “Andares”, a trumpet concerto dedicated to the 2006 Maurice André Competition winner Francisco “Pacho” Flores, and “Sonances for Strings”, dedicated to José Antonio Abreu, the founder of Venezuela’s ground-breaking system of children and youth orchestras “El Sistema”.
The American Prize 3rd Prize (there was a three-way tie):
Richard Prior
Decatur GA
“…of shadow and light…”
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| Richard Prior |
A noted member of the Atlanta School of Composers championed by conductor Robert Spano, Richard Prior’s orchestral, chamber and choral music has been widely acclaimed. The ASO-commissioned tone poem …of shadow and light… (incantations for orchestra) premiered in 2013. Subsequent critical review called the work “forbidding and dramatic”, “stunning” and “jubilant and exuberant”; the piece identified Prior as “perhaps the most gifted of the Atlanta composers”, citing mastery of orchestration, lyricism and musical drama. Subsequent ASO commissions include his Symphonies No. 3 (2014) and No. 4 (2020). Reviews of the third symphony heralded “a major work that is a triumph of integration, emotion, flow and orchestration”. Other recent premieres include works for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Cello Concerto for Matt Haimovitz and Flute Concerto for Jonathan Keeble, selected for the 2019 National Flute Association’s Gala Concert. Prior is published by Presser and represented on a number of labels. www.richardprior.org
The American Prize 3rd Prize (there was a three-way tie):
Aaron Zigman
Los Angeles CA
Tango Manos
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| Aaron Zigman |
Aaron Zigman is an award-winning American composer who has scored more than sixty major Hollywood motion pictures. As a classically trained pianist, conductor, and orchestral composer, he has recently completed commissions by the San Francisco Symphony, Beijing Music Festival, and Radio France. His film scores cross diverse genres, such as the iconic "The Notebook"—one of six collaborations with award-winning director Nick Cassavetes. Zigman has scored other hit films including "Bridge to Terabithia", "John Q.", "The Proposal", "The Ugly Truth", "Alpha Dog", "My Sister's Keeper", "Sex & the City I & II", and "The Shack", featuring Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer. A longtime collaborator with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, his deep classical roots have informed his writing and producing work for top vocalists such as Aretha Franklin, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Phil Collins, Seal, and Natalie Cole.
The American Prize Special Judges' Citation for "Music Both Relevant and Thought-Provoking"
Evan Williams
Memphis TN
Dead White Man Music
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| Evan Williams |
The music of Evan Williams has been performed across the country and internationally by members of the Detroit and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Quince Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, and at festivals such as the New Music Gathering, SEAMUS, and New York City Electronic Music Festival. In addition, he has been commissioned by notable performers and ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, and many more.
His honors include recognition from the National Federation of Music Clubs, ASCAP, a Classical Roots Residency with the Detroit Symphony, and Fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Williams holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Bowling Green State University, and Lawrence University. Williams serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Activities at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. He has also taught at Lawrence University, Bennington College, and the Walden School. evanwilliamsmusic.info
The American Prize Finalist Honorable Mention:
Zaq Latino
New York NY
hidden lakes
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| Zaq Latino |
Zaq is an artist of many mediums, originally from Philadelphia, who is making waves in New York City's music, art, and theater spaces. As composer, Zaq has had pieces performed in NYC; Brunswick and Waterville, Maine; Saratoga Springs and Ithaca, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and St. Petersburg, Russia. His sound is genre-bending and unique, combining his love of metal, alternative rock, and Indian Hindustani music with his Western-Classical training. He makes music for the sake of music; for the excitement of discovering, exploring and organizing sound; and for the joy it brings audiences. Most recently, he collaborated with YouTube personality, “The Cello Doll” on a multi-commission project entitled dollHauz: four non-piano trios for violin and cello. The collection will be performed in its entirety and recorded in New York City in 2021. Zaq will be completing his Master of Arts degree from Colorado State University this August. www.zaqlatino.com
The American Prize Finalist Honorable Mention:
Emi Nishida
Boston MA
Han-gover Square
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| Emi Nishida |
Emi Nishida started her musical training at the age of five. Through her love for films and music, she studied Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music. She strives to apply her unique compositional style in order to expand conventional film music. She was selected as a member of the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra in 2018. "The Man Who Laughs" by Universal Studio Pictures was rescored by the orchestra, and she worked as a composer and a conductor. Currently, she is working for several film projects as a composer, performing as a keyboardist for several musical theater shows, and participating in various styles of album recordings. website: eminishida.com
The American Prize Finalist Honorable Mention:
Alla Pavlova
Huntington NY
Symphony No. 5
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| Alla Pavlova |
Alla Pavlova was born in Ukraine. In 1975 she received her Bachelor’s Degree at the Ippolitov–Ivanov Music Institute. In 1983 she received her Master’s Degree at the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow.
Alla Pavlova has written many compositions for orchestra, including ten symphonies and the ballets Thumbelina, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, and Sulamith, based on the Alexandre Kuprin story about the love of King Solomon for Sulamith, a servant in his vineyard. She is also the composer of numerous instrumental and vocal works that have been performed in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
Her works combine classical, romantic and contemporary styles, and sometimes include elements from gospel and popular genres.
Recordings are available on the Naxos and Albany labels and her music is regularly broadcast internationally. Her website is at http://www.allapavlova.com/. Since 1990, Alla has lived in New York.
The American Prize Finalist Honorable Mention:
Robert Anton Strobel
Elizabeth CO
Life: Aaru
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| Robert Strobel |
Robert Strobel composes art music. Commissions he has received through time include a work for the Ladyslipper Ensemble, a Barlow Endowment-funded work for the Missouri Quintet, a Mizzou New Music Initiative-funded work for some string players of the St. Louis Symphony, [TriO], Columbia College, among several others. He has also raised funding to write a work for the National Flute Orchestra of the UK, among a few others. In 2019 he undertook an artist residency at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. In 2018, he won 3rd place in the Bruno Maderna International Composers Competition. In 2016, his work Prairie Dog Rhapsody received a special mention at the Alfred Schnittke Composer's Forum and Competition. His symphonic work From the Book of the Dead was a winner in the Missouri Orchestra Composers’ project. Robert Strobel has a doctorate in composition from Florida State University. www.robertantonstrobel.com
The American Prize in Composition—music for orchestra (student division), 2021
The American Prize winner:
Patrick Holcomb
Ocean View DE
Persephone
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| Patrick Holcomb |
Patrick Holcomb is a composer pursuing master’s degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studies composition with Eugene O’Brien and scoring for visual media with Larry Groupé. At the Jacobs School, he serves as Associate Instructor of Music Theory and previously was the Composition Department Graduate Assistant. Holcomb also studied with Aaron Travers and Claude Baker at Indiana University; with Dana Wilson, Jorge Grossmann, and Evis Sammoutis at Ithaca College, from which he graduated top of his class in the School of Music with a BM in Composition in 2018. His other compositional honors include a 2020 BMI Student Composer Award, the 2019/2021 Jon Vickers Film Scoring Award, and the 2019 Georgina Joshi Composition Commission Award. Holcomb has attended the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival in 2019 and Connecticut Summerfest in 2017 and 2018. He has been a member of Mensa since age nineteen.
The American Prize 2nd Place:
Julian Fueyo
New Haven CT
The Eleventh Heaven
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| Julian Fueyo |
Julián Fueyo (b. 1996) is a composer and conductor from Tampico, Mexico. His works explore the mythological dimensions of music in relation to collective memory and psychology. With an emphasis in line, his pieces map detailed structures that result in layered edifices of sound on a canvas of operatic proportions. The subjects often depict symbolic figures of folklore and myth, Mexican and otherwise.
His compositions have been played by renowned musicians such as Peter Otto (First Associate Concert Master of The Cleveland Orchestra), Shannon Lee (4th prize winner of the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Violin Competition), North/South Consonance Ensemble, Luna Nova New Music Ensemble. Julián is the recipient of the 68th BMI Student Composer Award, 2020 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, a Diploma honoris causa awarded by The American School of Tampico, 1st prize at The Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, 1st prize at Cleveland Composers Guild Collegiate Composition Contest, 1st Prize at Abundant Silence Composition Contest, winner at North/South Consonance Call for Scores, 1st prize at Ohio Federation of Music Clubs (OFMC) Collegiate Composers Contest, 1st prize at Belvedere Chamber Music Festival Composition Contest, finalist at 2016 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Award, winner at MATA Jr. Festival, 2nd prize at Webster University Young Composers Competition, ‘Anabel Combort Memorial Scholar’ at Interlochen Arts Academy.
Julian graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and, subsequently, from the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM '20) where he studied composition with Keith Fitch. He is currently pursuing his Master's degree at the Yale School of Music. For more information visit www.julianfueyo.com
The American Prize 3rd Place (there was a three way tie):
Daniel J. Armistead
Newark DE
In the Midst of Desolation
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| Daniel Armistead |
Daniel J. Armistead is a composer, arranger, and saxophonist in the greater Philadelphia area. He has written for countless ensembles ranging from chamber ensembles, choirs, marching bands, symphony orchestras, and wind ensembles. While attending the University of Delaware for his undergraduate degree in Music Composition, he studied with renowned teachers Todd Groves, Jennifer Barker, and James Ancona. His primary influences for his works are derived from neo-romanticism and jazz, exploring numerous statements of minute motifs that develop and fuse throughout a piece. In the summer, Daniel works for the Bluecoats Drum & Bugles Corps touring the country as their associate stage manager and a part of their administrative team. In May 2018, Daniel obtained his music composition degree and took a year off, composing daily and fulfilling commissions. Currently, he is in his 2nd year of his masters of music composition degree at the University of Delaware. Website: https://www.ArmisteadMusic.com
The American Prize 3rd Place (there was a three way tie):
Roman Baranskiy
San Francisco CA
Birds Landing
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| Roman Baranskiy |
Roman Baranskiy is a Bay Area based composer, teacher, and instrumentalist. Born and raised in Ukraine, he moved to California at the age of 16 after his love for lyricism was formed by Ukrainian folklore and landscapes. He studied Music Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he won the International Shanghai Chamber Competition for his string quartet, “Amphithymia”. Here he learned the art of fusing his whimsical Ukrainian roots with Western innovation, drawing inspiration from visual arts, literature, science, pop culture, and other mediums. Combining the latest trends with age old techniques, his music explores the constant tension present in nature and humanity. His latest commission, “Birds Landing”, explores the murmurations of birds as they ebb and flow, caught between the unknown of space and time, and the groundedness of earth.Website: www.romanbaranskiy.com
The American Prize 3rd Place (there was a three way tie):
Alexander Mansour
Stevenson Ranch CA
Fantasy Noir
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| Alexander Mansour |
Alexander Mansour is a composer, pianist, and cellist from Los Angeles California. His music is fascinated with the lyricism of romantic expression, dramatic juxtaposition of disparate harmonies, and dynamic narrative structures. He attends the USC Thornton School of Music pursuing his M.M. in Composition, studying with Donald Crockett (2019-2021). Alex’s recent orchestral work (Fantasy Noir) was premiered by USC’s Thornton Symphony in February 2020. His chamber music has been premiered at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and Atlantic Music Festival. He will study and premier a new commission at the Yale School of Music this summer (2020) for the Norfolk New Music Festival. He has appeared on NPR’s “From the Top”. He has studied cello with Katinka Kleijn (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and during an exchange in London, Richard Lester (Royal College of Music). Alex is also a lover of cinema and a composer for film. More can be found at: www.alexmansourmusic.com
The American Prize Career Encouragement Certificate:
Yuri Lee
Tuckahoe NY
Hey Warrior, Keep Going
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| Yuri Lee |
Yuri Lee is a 15-year-old 9th grader in NY. She has studied composition with Daniel Felsenfeld and violin with Lucie Gelinas at The Juilliard School Music Advancement Program for four years since 2016. After being selected as a Luna Composition Lab fellow in 2018, she has also been continuing her studies in composition with her mentor, Reena Esmail.
Her pieces have been performed in many places such as Composers Now 2019 Opening Event at National Opera Center, Manhattan Chamber Music, the Tuckahoe School District - some with professional musicians such as Mivos String Quartet, Duo Cortona, ICE, Pedro Giraudo, Trifilio Tango Trio. She was also selected as the winner in Hear It Live! hosted by Concordia Conservatory in 2017 and 2018, the recipient of the Patrina Foundation Fellowship at Luna Composition Lab in 2018, the orchestra finalist at the National Young Composers Challenge in 2019, and the winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Award in 2020.
To take a step towards her goal in life of making people happy with music, she founded the “Music Around Us Project”, where she organizes concerts to play with young musicians for seniors in an assisted living facility and young children in the community, and created a website to share her music (composeryuri.com).
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Congratulations!
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the musical and theater arts. The American Prize is nonprofit, unique in scope and structure, and is designed to evaluate, recognize and reward the best performers, composers, conductors, ensembles and directors in the United States, at professional, college/university, community and school levels, based on submitted recordings. There is no live competition.
Founded in 2010 and now celebrating its eleventh year, The American Prize has awarded nearly $100,000 in prizes in all categories since its creation. Thousands of artists representing all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of The American Prize.
The American Prize will accept applications for the 2021-22 contest season through September 14, 2021 or with extension request. www.theamericanprize.org
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