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  • Home
    • About
      • Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Heller
      • Executive Director Esteban Alvarez
      • Symphonic Chorus
      • Chamber Ensemble
    • Contact Us
    • Our Supporters
  • Donate Today
  • Events Calendar
  • Get Involved
    • Work at Chorus Austin
    • Join our Mailing List
    • Become A Season Partner
    • Auditions
  • Composers Competition
    • Past Winners
P.O. Box 204030
​Austin, TX
78720-4030

512-719-3300

Learn more about the past winners of our annual composers competition!

Chorus Austin’s Annual Composers Competition began in 2013 as exclusively a Young Composers Competition, open to composers 30 and younger. Now its in 9th year, it has been expanded to include a division for Young Composers, but also for composers of all ages. We are proud to have accepted applications from all over the world, and winners from Venezuela, Spain, and across the United States. Click here to learn more about our competition requirements. If you wish to be notified of future competition dates, please join our email newsletter.
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For questions or more information about this or any future Composers Competition, please email composerscompetition@chorusaustin.org
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2022 Young Composer Winner:
Stuart Beatch 
​The Letter


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”.

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2022 Runner-Up:
​James Arthur Guy Jr 
See Me

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. 

Honorable Mentions: Dylan Trần Self   -  Robert Ruohola Grow  -  Evan Blaché ​Let Us Speak
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2022 Open Division Winner:
Jennifer Lucy Cook 
​​They Are Mother

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.

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2022 Runner-Up: ​
Matthew Lyon Hazzard 
Si Se Puede
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.
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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.

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2022 Runner-Up: Abby Gostein Da L'cha

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.


Honorable Mentions: Brian Story Courageous Messengers of Light  -  Ludwig Tuman Cat's Protector 

2021 Winner 
Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (دانیال رضا سبزقبایی) 
​Goli az Dast Beraft (گلی از دست برفت) 
​"A Flower Was Lost"

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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.

2021 Runner-Up
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Mattias Lundberg 
Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal

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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. 

2021 Honorable Mentions: 

Patrick Vu - ​I Believe
Dylan Trần - Dear Heart

2021 Finalists​:

German Bárboza
Eric Choate
John Franek
​Isaac Lovdahl

2020 Winner
Sam Wu
​Sheng Sheng Man

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​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!

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Learn more about Sam Wu.

2020 Runner-Up
Rachel Lanik Whelan ​
How (this)

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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!
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Learn more about Rachel Whelan.

2019 Winner 
Dr. Sarah Rimkus
Rough Country

2018 Winner
Darren Schmidt
Set Me as a Seal

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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
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

2016 Winner 
Michael Gaydeski
Dreams in the Dusk

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. 

2015 Winner
Francisco Carbonell
O Sacrum Convivium

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.

2017 Winner
Carlos Cordero
7 Seconds of Love

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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

2014 Winner
Dr. Joshua Fishbein
A Prep School Boy

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. 

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Chorus Austin is a 501(c)(3) Not for Profit Organization.
Chorus Austin is proud to be supported in part by:​© 2018 Chorus Austin
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  • Home
    • About
      • Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Heller
      • Executive Director Esteban Alvarez
      • Symphonic Chorus
      • Chamber Ensemble
    • Contact Us
    • Our Supporters
  • Donate Today
  • Events Calendar
  • Get Involved
    • Work at Chorus Austin
    • Join our Mailing List
    • Become A Season Partner
    • Auditions
  • Composers Competition
    • Past Winners