School News
Austin Symphony announces winners of Sarah & Ernest Butler Texas Young Composers Competition
By media release
Feb 14, 2015

Austin -- The Austin Symphony Orchestra (Austin, TX) is proud to announce the winners of its 5th Annual Sarah & Ernest Butler Texas Young Composers Competition. Winning compositions will have their world premieres at the Texas Young Composers Concert on April 1, 2015.

The competition is open to students 18 years and younger who submit full, original orchestral compositions five to seven minutes in length. This year, 29 compositions were submitted from students across the state. Entries were evaluated and ranked by three esteemed musicians:

Peter Bay, Music Director and Conductor for the Austin Symphony

Bill Lewis, Principle Bassoon for the Austin Symphony

Steven Serpa, Graduate Student in Composition at the University of Texas

The nine winning composers this year represent six cities from across Texas. The winners are as follows:

Austin Ali, Blissful Nightmares, First Prize - $3,000 Scholarship, Plano, TX

Alan Mackwell, Uncompahgre, Second Prize - $2,000 Scholarship, Houston, TX

Timothy Dow, Spring, Third Prize - $1,000 Scholarship, Huntington, TX

Collin Cartwright, 3arth, $500 Scholarship, Houston, TX

Maximillien Hein, Intenso y Tango, $500 Scholarship, Cedar Park, TX

Sophie Mathieu, Somnium, $500 Scholarship, Austin, TX

Daniel Miller, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, $500 Scholarship, Woodlands, TX

Jacob Wohleb, Luminescence, $500 Scholarship, Austin, TX

Jeong Min Yoon, A Child's Dream, $500 Scholarship, Austin, TX

This is the first year scholarships are being awarded to the winners. Scholarships are available courtesy of a generous $1.1 Million Endowment gift made by Sarah & Ernest Butler. Their gift also ensures the program's longevity to groom the future generations of classical composers.

"The competition not only gives these young composers an arena for their music to be heard but also an opportunity to grow and learn as musicians," states ASO Executive Director Anthony Corroa. "Working with our staff, Peter Bay and the orchestra in preparation for the concert allows the students to hone their craft and make tremendous strides as composers. These young men and women are truly the future of our art form and we at the Austin Symphony are thrilled to be a part of the process. Past winners are majoring in composition in top schools around the country, writing for video game companies, even working for Disney."

Tickets for the Texas Young Composers Concert are available at the Austin Symphony Box Office, (512) 476-6064 or www.austinsymphony.org. The performance will be he held at The Long Center for Performing Arts in Austin on April 1, 2015. General Admission seats are $20 for adults and $8 for students.