Composers Competition Winners
2023
Young Composers Division
Aurélien Hallopeau (Winner)
Born in 1995, Aurélien Hallopeau is a French composer who currently mainly writes for choir, while keeping composing for other instruments. He also sings as a baritone in the chamber choir Ensemble vocal Évohé, directed by Fruzsina Szuromi.
Some of Aurélien Hallopeau’s choral works have been awarded prizes and premiered during international composition competitions, such as Petit Bestiaire (“1st Prize” of Eufonia-Bordeaux’s 2021 composition competition, France), and Gaudeat iuventus (“Best composition by a young composer” of the 2° Concurso de Composición Coral Cármina Nova, Spain). In January 2023, Analemme -a composition for choir, vibraphone and tubular bells setting scientific texts about the phenomenon of equinox- also received a prize during FestyVocal festival’s composition competition, France.
Aurélien Hallopeau’s compositions are as well regularly performed in Switzerland, such as in Geneva’s Cathedral in April 2022, with Surge amica mea, et veni -a choral piece commissioned by Ensemble vocal Évohé- and in Geneva’s Temple de la Madeleine in November 2022, with professional vocal ensemble L’Horizon Chimérique, conducted by Benoît Dubu. Other works were premiered in London, UK, as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, and of pianist Maria Marchant’s 7 notes in 7 days at 7pm project.
Sub tuum praesidium
Riley Ferretti (Runner Up)
Riley Ferretti (b.2000) is a Japanese-American composer and vocalist whose music explores the idea of human connection through choral, instrumental, and electronic music. Her inspiration spans numerous sources, from poetry to nature to personal experiences. She recently graduated from the University Of Louisville with a B.M. in Music Composition, where she won the 2021-2022 KMEA Collegiate Composition Competition for her choral piece, The Oak, and received the Sixty-Second Annual Alumni Award. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Music Composition at the University of Florida, where she is concentrating on the connection between the voice and live electronics as well as the creation of unique textures in instrumental and vocal music.
A Prayer
Open Division
Ben Kaye-Skinner (Winner)
Ben Kaye-Skinner is a Nebraska-based composer, performer, and educator. Composing and improvising since age 7, Ben was able to flourish under many mentors who encouraged his creative work. He graduated with a degree in music education from Doane College and went on to teach for 14 years at Fillmore Central Public Schools in Geneva, Nebraska before stepping down to work on his MFA in Music Composition at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
His first work for wind ensemble was premiered in 2006 at age 19, and since then he has composed dozens of works for wind groups of all ages and instrumentations, as well as extensive custom arranging for high school bands and choirs for bands across Nebraska. Other credits include writing for and conducting the orchestra of the Colonel Mustard Amateur Attic Theatre and numerous instrumental performances, most often as a pianist.
The winning composition is a setting of Psalm 108, which was originally written while hand-washing dishes in January of 2009 and edited in 2022. A dishwasher was acquired in June of 2009 and since then his choral output has been far outpaced by instrumental works. Is it a coincidence? We may never know...
Sing Unto God
Motshwane Pege (Runner Up)
Motshwane Pege is a captivating composer and percussionist from Johannesburg, South Africa. He began composing during his time as a chorister at the Drakensberg Boys Choir School in KwaZulu-Natal. His interests in composition and percussion flourished during his high school years, where he was given numerous opportunities to arrange and compose new music for vocal and instrumental ensembles. One of his most notable works from this time is Mandela's Last Prayer, written for the Midlands Chamber Choir.
Motshwane then went on to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Orchestral Percussion at the University of Pretoria. Motshwane received notable commissions to compose for the TUKS Camerata, UP Ensemble Orchestra, UP String Quartet, and Dr Michael Barrett's Chamber Singers. In recent years, Motshwane has received invaluable masterclasses from celebrated choral composer Jake Runestad, who guided him in crafting more mature and impactful compositions.
At present, Motshwane teaches music and percussion at a number of schools in Johannesburg and Pretoria whilst being an active percussionist, performing with many ensembles in South Africa.
I Believe
2022
Young Composers Division
Stuart Beatch (Winner)
Stuart Beatch (b. 1991) is a Canadian choral composer currently living in Edmonton, Alberta. He received a Master of Music in Composition from King’s College London, studying with composer Rob Keeley, and is currently the composer-in-residence for The Fourth Choir. He is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers. In 2016, Beatch was selected to participate in the Theoartistry programme at the University of St Andrews, where he was mentored by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan. and later accepted into the inaugural Choral Arts program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
His winning piece, "The Letter" sets a text from November 1958, written to British lawmakers as they debated the Wolfenden Report. This report formally suggested for the first time that homosexuality be made legal in the UK. Although this attempt was ultimately unsuccessful until 1967, with the passing of the Sexual Offences Act, there were many stirring moments in the 8-hour debate, including the reading of a powerful letter from an anonymous gay man. "The Letter" is the last movement of a larger work, "I am like many", commissioned by Senate House Library (London, UK) for their 2018 exhibition of queer texts, “Queer Between the Covers”.
The Letter
James Arthur Guy Jr. (Runner Up)
Born and raised in the bluffs of Memphis, Tennessee, composer/arranger James Guy has dedicated the past decade to honing his craft in ways that would be beneficial not only to himself but to other likeminded creators.
James received his bachelor's degree in music business from The University of Memphis in the summer of 2018. From 2017-2018 he worked as a student composer in collaboration with Blue TOM Records, the school of music's own record label, writing and conducting artist arrangements for both This Is Memphis festivals during those years. The last show James worked on at the university level was a Hip Hop Symphony entitled Music for Martin, written by a host of students to honor the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He spent four years building a band program at Earle High School in Earle Arkansas, and credits all the opportunities he's had to his band directors from middle school through college. He vowed at some point to give back to the community that gave so much to him. He continues to write and aspires to build a career in film/commercial music.
See Me
Open Division
Jennifer Lucy Cook (Winner)
Jennifer Lucy Cook is a composer and lyricist based in Los Angeles. Jen specializes in musical comedy for the stage and screen, progressive choral music, and pop songwriting. Recent choral commissions include For You I Will Be An Island with Cantorum Chamber Choir, Time with Voces Ad Opus for Louisiana ACDA, and They Are Mother with the Utah Valley University Chamber Choir. About They Are Mother, Cook writes, "When I was working on the words for this piece, I consulted with my friend Reverend Alex Reegan, who is a trans man and interfaith minister, to create a text that embodies the energy of the feminine divine that is present in any gender."
Her theater commissions include Full House Theatre Co., British Youth Musical Theatre, and the Globe Theatre in London, and her musical recaps of the Bachelor recently went viral on TikTok. She earned a Master’s degree in Musical Theater Writing from Goldsmiths University in London and a Bachelor’s in Contemporary Music from Brigham Young University. Jen is mentored by renowned composer Eric Whitacre.
They Are Mother
Matthew Lyon Hazzard (Runner Up)
Matthew Lyon Hazzard is an award-winning Filipino-American composer, conductor, and singer. Praised for his “exquisite text-setting” and for creating “stunning landscapes of sound,” Hazzard’s music has garnered numerous accolades. He was named the winner of the 2021 California Choral Directors Association George Heussenstamm Composition Competition, the 2017 American Choral Directors Association Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition, True Concord’s inaugural Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition, and several others. His music is performed by collegiate and professional ensembles around the world, including the Bob Cole Chamber Choir, the Metropolitan Chorus of Tokyo, the Choral Project, the Portland State Chamber Choir, and The University of Washington Chorale.
Hazzard earned his Masters in Music in Choral Conducting from the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University Long Beach, and his Master of Arts in Teaching and Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from East Carolina University. Before pursuing his graduate studies, Hazzard taught at Greene Central High School (NC) for four years. His choirs received numerous awards, consistent superior ratings, and were invited to perform on the stage of Carnegie Hall under his leadership. Hazzard is now pursuing a DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of Houston.
Si Se Puede
Abby Gostein (Runner Up)
Abby Gostein has served as cantor of Temple Beth Shalom in Austin, TX since 2004. She is a published composer of Jewish liturgical music whose compositions have been sung throughout the United States as well as internationally. Several of her pieces have been selected for presentation at Jewish liturgical music festivals and at cantorial conferences, and she has produced a CD of her original compositions, entitled "Each Blessing.” Her composition, Vayarotz Likratam was performed by Chorus Austin at their Southwest Voices Concert in 2014.
Cantor Gostein holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Yale University, a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master’s degree in Jewish Sacred Music from the Academy of Jewish Religion California, where she also received her cantorial ordination. She lives with her husband Michael, and is the proud mother of their two sons, Daniel and Aaron, who make their own beautiful music.
Da L’cha
Honorable Mentions
Brian Story - Courageous Messengers of Light
Ludwig Tuman - Cat’s Protector
2021
Young Composers Division
Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei - دانیال رضا سبزقبایی
(Winner)
Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (دانیال رضا سبزقبایی) is a creator who aims to emphasize the malleability of time and how we experience it, not just in the concert hall but in everyday life as well. His work has been presented and commissioned by organizations including: Intimacy of Creativity Festival, the International Contemporary Ensemble, National Sawdust, JACK Quartet, Guerilla Opera, the Banff Centre, OPERA America, Music from Copland House, Beth Morrison Projects, the New York Festival of Song, TAK Ensemble, the Moab Music Festival, [Switch~] Ensemble, Pro Coro Canada, The Esoterics, Unheard-of//Ensemble, Young New Yorkers Chorus, Contemporaneous, loadbang, VocalEssence, TACET(i), Israeli Chamber Project, ICon Arts Festival, and the Busan Choral Festival. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and the Peabody Conservatory. Daniel is currently a doctoral candidate and Sage Fellow at Cornell University. Learn more about Daniel Sabzghabaei.
Goli az Dast Beraft - گلی از دست برفت
Mattias Lundberg (Runner Up)
Mattias Lundberg writes for choir with a conductor’s perspective. While his academic focus is in Baroque music, his own compositions reflect a modern approach to form and harmony, gravitating towards rich, dense chords as the foundation for his choral settings. Mattias was born in Washington, DC to British and Swedish parents, and spent the pandemic working for Arts Laureate as an audio engineer for virtual choir projects.
Also a professional singer, he graduated from Haverford College in 2020 with a BA in Music, and is attending the Yale School of Music to pursue a MM in Choral Conducting.
Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
Patrick Vu - I Believe
Dylan Trần - Dear Heart
Honorable Mentions
German Bárboza
Eric Choate
John Franek
Isaac Lovdahl
Finalists
2020
Young Composers Division
Sam Wu (Winner)
Sam Wu attended The Juilliard School for his M.M. in Composition, after receiving an A.B. in Music and East Asian Studies from Harvard University. Sam's piece "Sheng Sheng Man" was selected as 2020 our winner, but the piece could not be performed live due to COVID-19 restrictions. Chorus Austin recorded Sam's piece in June of 2021. See the recording here!
Learn more about Sam Wu.
Sheng Sheng Man
Rachel Lanik Whelan (Runner Up)
Rachel Whelan is currently a PhD student and teaching fellow in composition at the University of North Texas. Rachel's piece "How (this)" was selected as 2020 our runner-up, but the piece could not be performed live due to COVID-19 restrictions.Chorus Austin recorded Rachel's piece in June of 2021. See the recording here!
Learn more about Rachel Whelan.
How (this)
2019
Young Composers Division
Dr. Sarah Rimkus (Winner)
Dr. Sarah Rimkus, a doctoral graduate of the University of Aberdeen, was chosen as our 2019 winner from more than 80 submissions. Her piece Rough Country
(from her longer work, Failed Saints) was performed as part of Chorus Austin's "Southwest Voices" concerts on May 4-5, 2019 in Austin, Texas.
Learn more about Dr. Sarah Rimkus
Rough Country
2018
Young Composers Division
Darren Schmidt (Winner)
Darren Schmidt, an award-winning composer and performer from Baltimore, Maryland, was selected as our 2018 winner. His work, Set Me as a Seal, received its world premier performances as part of Chorus Austin's "Southwest Voices" concerts May 5 & 6, 2018 in Austin, Texas.
Learn more about Darren Schmidt
Set Me as a Seal
2017
Young Composers Division
Carlos Cordero (Winner)
Carlos Cordero, originally from Venezuela and a recent MM graduate of Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, was selected as our 2017 winner. His work, Seven Seconds of Love, received its world premiere performances as part of Chorus Austin’s “Southwest Voices” concerts May 20 & 21, 2017 in Austin, Texas.
Learn more about Carlos Cordero
7 Seconds of Love
2016
Young Composers Division
Michael Gaydeski (Winner)
Michael Gaydeski holds a master's degree in music composition and trumpet performance from Oklahoma City University and a bachelor's degree in music theory and composition from Indiana University. Chorus Austin presented the world premiere of Dreams in the Dusk at our "Southwest Voices" concerts on April 30 - May 1, 2016.
Dreams in the Dusk
2015
Young Composers Division
Francisco Carbonell(Winner)
Francisco Carbonnel is a graduate of the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Valencia, where he studied music theory and composition. Since Chorus Austin's performance of this piece in 2015, O Magnum Mysterium has gone on to win 3rd prize in the International Composition Competition Musica Sacra Nova in 2016.
O Sacrum Convivium
2014
Young Composers Division
Dr. Joshua Fishbein (Winner)
Dr. Joshua Fishbein is a doctoral graduate of UCLA, and teaches on the music theory faculties at The Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University and and Towson University. Since winning our premiere Young Composer Competition award with A Prep School Boy, he returned to commission Sunset Symphony for Chorus Austin as a part of the Dale Warland Singers Commission, presented by Chorus America.