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.
For questions or more information about this or any future Composers Competition, please email composerscompetition@chorusaustin.org
For questions or more information about this or any future Composers Competition, please email composerscompetition@chorusaustin.org
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”.
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”.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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2021 Runner-Up
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2020 Runner-Up
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2017 Winner
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