Friday, May 26th, 2017

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Join us for a night of new music by the winners of the NextNotes High School Composition Award program at the Lab Theater in Minneapolis, MN. Emceed by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, you’ll get to know the future of new music and the young artists that create it. The diverse musical offerings will be performed by professional musicians from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Area as well as by the winners themselves.

The following outstanding 2017 NextNotes winners were selected for their compositional skills and strong creative voices:
• Stephanie Chow (Bloomington, IL)
• Alistair Coleman (Bethesda, MD)
• Nathaniel Heyder (Alexandria, VA)
• Natsumi Osborn (Katy, TX)
• Sammy Sussman (Bedford Hills, NY)
• Evan Tiapula (Brisbane, CA)

This showcase is the culmination of the winners’ time with NextNotes mentors Carol Barnett, Joshua Clausen, and Joseph Horton and all other activities associated with the NextNotes program.

This event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception. We hope you can join us!

About the NextNotes High School Composition Awards Winners

Stephanie Chow (Bloomington, IL): Closer for Vocals, electronic keyboards, and percussion

Stephanie Chow is a 16 year-old junior at University High School in Illinois. She began studying piano at age four, then picked up guitar as her primary instrument at age 7. She has since developed an interest in jazz guitar (which she plays for her high school jazz band and the Illinois State University ensembles), along with improvisation, and composition with an emphasis on a fusion of hip hop, jazz, and pop. Notable achievements include a Downbeat Student Music Award, several 1st place awards for All-State ILMEA composition, and a 1st place national NAfME award.

Alistair Coleman (Bethesda, MD): Images From Fallingwater for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion

Alistair Coleman is a senior at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD. His music has been performed by the National Philharmonic, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, and the Cathedral Choral Society, among others. He was recently appointed the National Philharmonic’s Composer-in-Residence. Alistair’s music is published by E.C. Schirmer. He has received awards and honors from ASCAP, YoungArts Foundation, and NAfME. Alistair studies privately with David Ludwig and Richard Danielpour. He will attend The Juilliard School this fall.

 

Nathaniel Heyder (Alexandria, VA): Septet for Piano and Winds

Nathaniel Heyder (18) is currently a senior at the Interlochen Arts Academy where he studies composition under Cynthia Van Maanen and violin performance under Paul Sonner.  Throughout his musical career, he has played in various music festivals and ensembles.  He recently participated in The Luzerne Music Festival, the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, Eastern Music Festival, the DC Youth Orchestra, and the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra. Nathaniel has also received recognition for his compositions from the Project 21 High School Composition Competition as well as the merit award in YoungArts.

Natsumi Osborn (Katy, TX): Veiled Expanse for flute, viola, and harp

Natsumi Osborn (b.1999) is a Japanese-American composer from Tokyo, Japan. Finding her interest in composition at the age of six, she has since written for film and ballet as well as concert music. Recognitions for her work include an ASCAP Morton Gould Honorable Mention, 1st Prize from the Carson Thomas Miller Texas Emerging Composers Competition, and a premiere at the Society of Composers, Inc. Region VI conference. She currently studies under Mr. Daniel Knaggs from Rice University.

 

Sammy Sussman (Bedford Hills, NY): Eyrie for string quartet and tape

Sammy Sussman is a senior at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York. He has been composing for five years and has been a member of the New York Youth Symphony Composition Program since 2014. For the past two summers, he has traveled to Paris, France to attend the European American Musical Alliance’s Composition Program. He currently studies composition with Dr. Kyle Blaha. In addition to composing, he plays classical and jazz bass, he has twice participated in Berklee High School Jazz Festival, where his jazz quartet placed second and third.

Evan Tiapula (Brisbane, CA): On Being Crazy: Social Hunger for percussion, bass drum, clarinet, and tenor voice

Evan Tiapula, 16, has spent the last two summers composing at Walden School’s Young Musicians Program in New Hampshire and has continued studies in harmony and counterpoint with Dr. Derek David. A student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-college Program, he studies voice with Jimmy Kansau and composition with Arkadi Serper. He is the youngest, ever, member of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and is studying choral conducting under Director Emeritus, Vance George. This summer he will be attending Tanglewood Institute for voice.

 

For more information, please visit www.composersforum.org, www.NextNotes.org, Facebook, Twitter, or email Laura Krider, Director of Education and Community Partnerships, at lkrider@composersforum.org.