The Austin Symphony Orchestra in Texas has chosen nine winners in its annual Sarah & Ernest Butler Texas Young Composers Competition for students 18 years and younger. Paul Novak of Houston won first place and $3,000 for his composition On Buoyancy. Second place went to Isaac Villaroya (San Antonio; $2,500; Aegis); third place, Maximilien Hein (Cedar Park; $2,000; Impressions of a Hero’s Journey); fourth place, Amy Gravell (Austin; $1,500; Prelude to Eternity); and Dara Li (Plano; $1,000; Gaia). Scholarships of $500 each went to Austin Ali (Dallas; Ostinato), Zack Berry (Kennedale; Reflection and March to War); Sophie Mathieu (Austin; The Columbia River); and Angelo Salgado (San Antonio; Unity). Novak’s On Buoyancy will be performed on an Austin Symphony Orchestra Masterworks concert during the 2018-19 season. Other winning compositions will have their world premieres at the Texas Young Composers Concert on June 17, 2017. “It is very difficult for young composers to have their compositions played by a professional orchestra,” states ASO Executive Director Anthony Corroa. “It is our hope that The Austin Symphony’s Young Composers Competition and Concert will continue to encourage young Texas composers and nurture future masterpieces.”
Posted May 2, 2017
Pictured: Paul Novak, first-place winner of the Austin Symphony Orchestra’s Sarah & Ernest Butler Texas Young Composers Competition
