The American Harp Society (AHS) has announced a new educational program called the Young Composers Project, designed to inspire young harpists to try their hand at composition. The opportunity is open to all young harpists, regardless of their previous experience with composition.
The AHS is inviting all of its members, aged 25 and under, to submit an original composition for solo harp (both a score and a recording) of up to eight minutes in length. The original work may be from any musical genre and written for either pedal harp or lever harp. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2017. The applications will be divided into four age categories: Junior (12 and under), Teen I (13-15), Teen II (16-18), and Young Adult (19-25). All applicants for the Young Composers Project will receive personal professional written feedback about their compositions. More details about how to apply for the program can be found on the AHS website
A committee of AHS highly-respected composers will then select up to eight applicants to become “Featured Composers,” to be announced on April 1, 2017. Featured composers will receive one-on-one feedback from Grammy Award-winner Libby Larsen, as well as the award-winning harp composer, Rachel Brandwein. Additionally, their original works will be performed in a concert at the 2017 AHS Summer Institute in St. Olaf College, and they will be featured in the American Harp Journal.
As Rachel Brandwein says, “The mission of the Young Composer’s Project is for harpist-composers to celebrate the unique capabilities of the harp, and to be inspired to discover and explore their original creativity. There are many avenues wherein to utilize musical elements in your compositions. We are eager to be immersed in each work of art, which is only limited to the confines of your imagination!”
