Chorus Austin's Young Composers Competition

Announcing the Winner and Runner-up for our
2020 Young Composers Competition!

2020 Winner
Sam Wu
​Sheng Sheng Man

Sam Wu's music deals with the beauty in blurred boundaries. From Melbourne, Australia, Sam attended The Juilliard School for his M.M. in Composition, after receiving an A.B. in Music and East Asian Studies from Harvard University. His teachers include Tan Dun, Robert Beaser, Chaya Czernowin, Richard Beaudoin, and Derek Bermel. Selected for the American Composers Orchestra's EarShot readings, winner of an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, First Prize at the Harbin Competition, and a Society of Composers, Inc / ASCAP Commission, Sam Wu also received Harvard's Robert Levin Prize and Juilliard's Palmer Dixon Prize.
Sam’s collaborations span five continents, most notably with the Melbourne, China National, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Harbin Symphonies, Sarasota Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Asia Society, the Parker Quartet, violinist Miranda Cuckson, shēng virtuoso Wu Wei, and pipa master Wu Man. Sam has been featured on the National Geographic Channel, Business Insider, Harvard Crimson, Sydney Morning Herald, Asahi Shimbun, People's Daily, among others. To view Sam's catalog, visit www.samwumusic.com.

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

Composer Rachel Lanik Whelan writes lyrical, honest, narrative-driven music. Much of her work is written in collaboration with living poets; she has had the pleasure of setting the words of Paul L. Thomas, Katherine Cooley, and Jehanne Dubrow. Her music has been performed by Choral Arts Initiative, SBO Wind Ensemble, KC Vitas Choir, and she has opened for singer-songwriter Susan Werner at the Johnny Carson Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her instrumental music is an exploration in color and character.
Passionate about arts management and administration, she has worked as an administrator or intern for the Cortona Sessions for New Music, Savvy Arts Venture, and the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Her dedication to the performance of music by living composers is further evident in her work as Assistant Director for the non- profit concert series Treefalls: New Music in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
She is currently a PhD student and teaching fellow in composition at the University of North Texas. Her current research and compositions invlove exploring emotions and characters in music for voice. Her teachers in composition include Kirsten Broberg, Sungji Hong, Mandy Fang, John Fitz Rogers, and Jesse Jones. To hear her music or purchase scores, please visit www.rachellwhelan.com.

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2019 Winner 
Dr. Sarah Rimkus
Rough Country

2018 Winner
Darren Schmidt
Set Me as a Seal

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

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. 

Competition Requirements

To be in the know about submission openings for our 2021 Young Composers Competition, email youngcomposer@chorusaustin.org
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General Information
Composer Requirements:

• Participation is open to composers of any nationality.
• Composer must be no more than 30 years old at submission deadline. 
• Previous winners, as well as composers directly related to board and staff of Chorus Austin, are not eligible to participate.

Prizes:

• Two winners will be selected from the pool of applicants: a first-place winner and a runner-up

• First place winner will receive:
  • $1250 cash prize
  • Two (2) complimentary tickets to each performance
  • Professional recording of the performance of the composition
  • $750 Travel Reimbursement if composer is able to be present for the premiere performance (winner is not required to attend)
  • Opportunity to work with Maestro Ryan Heller and Chorus Austin Chamber Ensemble at a scheduled rehearsal before the concerts, either in person or virtually

• Runner-up will receive:
  • $500 cash prize
  • Two (2) complimentary tickets to each performance
  • Professional recording of the performance of the composition
  • $100 Travel Reimbursement if composer is able to be present for the premiere performance (runner-up is not required to attend)​

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