Northwest Region
Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings
Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings is an ensemble committed to bringing to life the body of repertoire that utilizes between 6 and 20 musicians. DCWS musicians are drawn primarily from the Detroit Symphony and Michigan Opera Theatre orchestras. Now in its 33rd year, Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings presents an annual six-concert Spotlight Series, six-concert Nightnotes Series and two Structurally Sound concerts. Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings was named Crain's Detroit Business 2010 Best-Managed Nonprofit.
To find out more, please visit detroitchamberwinds.org.
NORTHWEST SEMI-FINALS CONCERT:
Rapido! Semi-Finals
November 11, 2018 3pm
St. Hugo of the Hills
Midwest Winner: Brian Nabors!
RAPIDO! TAKE FIVE!!
2018 NORTHWEST REGION SEMI-FINALISTS:
Grant Harville, Great Falls, MT
Winner of the London Conducting Masterclass Competition and the Agatha C. Church Conducting Award, Grant Harville was appointed in 2017 to be the Music Director of the Great Falls Symphony from an international pool of 115 candidates. Previous positions include Artistic Director of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony (where he received a 20 Under 40 award from the Southeast Idaho Business Journal), Associate Conductor of the Georgia Symphony, Orchestra Director at Ripon College, and Music Director for the Madison Savoyards. A devoted educator, Harville has been Music Director of the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Director of the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, served as Choir Director for the Atlanta Music Project, an El Sistema-based music education program dedicated to underserved youth in urban Atlanta.
Harville’s diverse musical background includes experience as a tubist, vocalist, violist, and composer. He has a number of tuba competition victories to his credit, including First Prize in the Leonard Falcone International Solo Tuba competition and winner of the University of Michigan Concerto Competition, performing a concerto of his own composition. As tenor with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, he performed as soloist with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. His compositions have been performed by numerous ensembles and soloists throughout the US: his Sonata for tuba and piano was a finalist for the Harvey G. Phillips Award for Excellence in Composition, and he was awarded a grant to conduct his Steampunk Partita at the 2017 National Association of Music Educators Northwest Division Conference in Bellevue, Washington.
Harville pursued his music studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Michigan.
Brian Nabors, Cincinnati, OH
Brian Raphael Nabors is a composer of emotionally enriching music that tells exciting narratives with its vibrant themes and colorful harmonic language. Mr. Nabors has been commissioned by institutions such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as well as performed at many events across the US, including the Texas Music Educators Association Conference (TMEA), the Midwest Composers Symposium, and the International Double Reed Society Conference (IDRS). He has received awards from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Alabama Music Teachers Association (AMTA), the Birmingham Music Club, and has been performed by artists such as the Zodiac Trio, the Unheard-of//Ensemble, and the Contemporary Directions Ensemble at the University of Michigan.
With an eclectic musical palate and crafty compositional technique to match, Nabors’ music draws from combinations of Jazz/R&B with the modern flair of contemporary music. Brian Raphael Nabors is a composer of emotionally enriching music that tells exciting narratives with its vibrant themes and colorful harmonic language. Mr. Nabors has been commissioned by institutions such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as well as performed at many events across the US, including the Texas Music Educators Association Conference (TMEA), the Midwest Composers Symposium, and the International Double Reed Society Conference (IDRS). He has received awards from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Alabama Music Teachers Association (AMTA), the Birmingham Music Club, and has been performed by artists such as the Zodiac Trio, the Unheard-of//Ensemble, and the Contemporary Directions Ensemble at the University of Michigan.
Brian holds a Master of Music Degree in composition from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (CCM). He also obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in theory & composition from the School of the Arts at Samford University. He is currently completing doctoral studies in composition at the University of Cincinnati where his primary instructor is Douglas Knehans.
Bertrand Stone, Fox Point, WI
Bertrand Stone is a Ph. D. student in pure mathematics at UCLA. He graduated from MIT with a double major in theoretical mathematics and music composition. His Flute Concerto was premiered in Oct. 2017 by the MIT Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Adam Boyles, with Kyle Swanson playing the solo part. His String Quartet in A minor was premiered by the Aeolus Quartet in May 2017. Other compositions include the Song of the Night and In der Frühe for orchestra. In der Frühe was played and recorded by the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra under the direction of Kristo Kondakçi as part of the BPYO’s 2018 Young Composers Initiative. At MIT, Bertrand has studied composition with Keeril Makan, Charles Shadle, and Peter Child. He has played the violin for about 16 years, studying most recently with Yuncong Zhang (Boston Symphony) and previously with Zhan Shu (Pittsburgh Symphony). He has played in the MIT Symphony since 2014, and in the MIT Emerson Scholars program since 2015. Bertrand received the 2018 Louis Sudler Prize for Excellence in the Arts, which is awarded annually by the Council for the Arts at MIT to a graduating senior who has demonstrated excellence or the highest standards of proficiency in music, theater, painting, sculpture, design, architecture or film. In 2018 he also received the David Epstein Award, presented in recognition of distinguished service and musical contribution to the MIT Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he received the Gregory Tucker Memorial Prize, which is awarded by the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section in recognition of exceptional ability in composition, performance, music-historical studies, or music technology.
RAPIDO! TAKE FOUR!!
2015 MIDWEST REGION SEMI-FINALISTS:
Randy Bauer, Minneapolis, MN
Randy Bauer is a composer and jazz musician based in Minneapolis. His works have been performed across a range of cities and venues, by members of the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Brentano String Quartet, eighth blackbird, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and many others. His composition, Neighborhood Music, debuted on WFMT Chicago radio in 2013, and was released on Cedille Records in 2014. He was named a 2013-14 McKnight Fellow in Music Composition by the McKnight Foundation of Minnesota. He has been a resident artist at Yaddo, the Ucross Foundation, and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and has received many regional and national awards, including three ASCAP/Morton Gould Awards for Young Composers. He is an accomplished jazz pianist and composer, and has received recognition from DownBeat, the Commission Project, Jazz Composers Alliance, and has won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer's Award. He is currently Associate Professor of Music at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he teaches composition, theory, and jazz topics. He holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Princeton University.
Luke Dahn, Orange City, IA
The music of Luke Dahn has been performed throughout the United States and abroad, with recent performances given by groups such as the Moscow Conservatory Studio for New Music, Composers Inc., the NODUS Ensemble, the League of Composers Chamber Players, the NEXTET Ensemble, the University of Iowa Center for New Music, New Music New Mexico, violinist Wolfgang David, and saxophonist Kenneth Tse. Venues have included Carnegie Hall (NY), Rachmaninoff Hall (Moscow), the Estonia Academy of Music (Tallinn), the Frankfurter KuenstlerKlub, Harvard University's Memorial Church, the Miami ISCM Festival Series, and the N.E.O.N. (Nevada Encounters of New Music) Festival at which he was awarded the Max Di Julio Prize. Dahn has also been the recipient of several other recent awards including the 2014 J.D. Robb International Composition Prize, and several of his works are featured on Albany-label recordings.
Dahn earned graduate degrees in composition from the University of Iowa and Western Michigan University, and his principal teachers include David Gompper, C. Curtis-Smith, and Ann Gebuhr. After serving eight years at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, Dahn joined the music faculty at the University of Utah in the fall of 2015. In addition, he is co–founder and co–artistic director of Ensemble Périphérie, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the League of Composers/ISCM. For more information, visit lukedahn.net.
Kevin Eppich, Cleveland, OH
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, composer/conductor Kevin Eppich began his musical training at the Cleveland Music School Settlement, studying piano with Ron Moir and Arthur Kane and theory and composition with Richard Franks. As a student at Cleveland State University, Eppich studied composition with Eric Ziolek, John Howell Morrison, Greg D’Alessio, and Andrew Rindfleisch and piano with Janina Caesar, Margarita Shevchenko, and Angelin Chang. He has also participated in master classes and seminars with such composers as Bernard Rands, Donald Martino, Mario Davidovsky, Andrew Imbrie, P. Q. Phan, Arthur Krieger, and Shulamit Ran. Equally at home with vocal, instrumental, and orchestral forces, his music has been performed by pianist Nicholas Underhill, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, violist Sarah Higgins, saxophonist Stephen J. Zombory, student and faculty musicians at Cleveland State University, the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland, as well as the Euclid Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he has worked with The Gregg Smith Singers, violinist Rolf Schulte, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the contemporary chamber ensemble Zeitgeist, as well as pianist Geoffrey Burleson. As a conductor, he has worked with the Cleveland State University Chorale, as well as the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. He guest conducted the Euclid Symphony Orchestra and served as its music directed during the 2010-2011 season. In 2011 the Euclid Symphony Orchestra premiered, under the composer’s direction, Celebration Fanfares, which the orchestra had commissioned to commemorate its 50th anniversary season. That same year, the new music ensemble No Exit premiered Frenetic Dances, a work it had commissioned. In 2013, he was a recipient of the Director's Choice Award from Boston Metro Opera's Composer's Competition for his song cycle for countertenor and piano, Songs of Innocence and Experience. Eppich currently serves as a bass section principal in choir at St. John's Cathedral. He also dabbles in accordion and recorder as well as collaborative piano.
RAPIDO! TAKE THREE!!
2012 MIDWEST REGION SEMI-FINALISTS:
STEVEN SNETHKAMP - Indiana
Steven Snethkamp is an award-winning composer whose music has been performed across the United States and in Europe. His compositions are wide ranging, including works for orchestra, wind symphony, chorus, various chamber ensembles, and soloists. Recent performances include groups such as the Third Angle Ensemble, Indiana University Concert Orchestra, and the Fifth Floor Collective. In addition to acoustic music, he regularly works with electronic music, as well as video. His computer music has been programmed at SEAMUS, Electronic Music Midwest, and Electronic Music from the Big 10. In 2012, his music will be presented at the ICMC conference in Slovenia and at the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.
Steven has worked as an Associate Instructor for the composition department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he taught counterpoint and composition. He holds degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder (BM) and Indiana University (MM), where he is also pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in composition. His composition instructors have included Sven-David Sandström, David Dzubay, Claude Baker, Don Freund, Per Mårtensson, P.Q. Phan, Daniel Kellogg, Andrew May, and Richard Toensing. He has also studied computer music and multimedia work with Jeffery Hass, John Gibson, and Alicyn Warren.
KEVIN WILT - Michigan
Kevin Wilt’s music has been performed throughout the United States by beginning musicians up to professionals of the highest caliber. His music has been praised for its expert orchestration, beautiful writing, and keen sense of mood and tonal balance. Recent performances include the world premiere of Song of the Phoenix for winds by Kevin Sedatole and the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, whose recording of the work will be released in 2012-13.
Wilt is equally at home composing for film and television, providing scores for many locally-produced films, earning him a Michigan Emmy® Award Nomination for Best Musical Composition. In 2009, his music was recorded by members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as part of the NYU/ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop. His next film score will be for the feature filmThe Northville Tunnels, distributed by Focus Features.
Wilt holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition from Michigan State University, where he studied with Ricardo Lorenz. He completed his Masters Degree in Music Composition at MSU, working with Jere Hutcheson andCharles Ruggiero, and his Bachelors Degree in Music Composition and Theory from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he studied with James Hartway.
GRACE XU SCHOTT - Indiana
A pianist, composer, and teacher, Grace Xu Schott is the founder of Grace Note Studios, a private music studio located in Carmel, Indiana. An active member of the Indianapolis Piano Teachers Association, she currently serves as a Historian and Recital Coordinator. She is also an active member of the Indiana Piano Teachers’ Guild, Society of Composers, and Music Teachers National Association. Her piano students have received numerous recognitions through the National Federation of Music Clubs, as well as scholarship awards through IPTA and IPTG. Her services to the musical community in Central Indiana include organizing annual Play-Off events for the Junior Festival, serving as a judge for annual music contests, and hosting cooperative recitals in the Hamilton County.
Grace made her first international appearance at the age of 14 at the Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition, and a year later, at the Silver Lake International Concerto Competition. In August 2005, when she was a featured soloist in the performance of Rachmaninoff second piano concerto with the Berlin Youth Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Daisuke Soga in Catania, Italy.
While taking part in composition studies with Samuel Adler in Berlin, Germany, her work for woodwind trio, “Scharfestrasse” was premiered in the summer of 2009 at the New Synogogue of Berlin. In the spring of 2011, her works were featured in the Women’s Conference of Ball State University. In Summer 2011, her song cycle, “Versed in Music” was premiered at Ball State University.
Xu Schott received Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Indiana University Jacob School of Music; Master of Music in piano performance from University of Southern California. She is currently Doctor of Arts candidate in composition and piano performance at Ball State University. Her composition teachers include P.Q. Phan, Samuel Adler, Jody Nagel, Mischa Zupko, Vera Stanojevic, and Don Freund. Her first piano teacher was her father, Keli Xu. Later she continued her piano studies with Kenneth Drake, Jane Allen, William Heiles, Karen Shaw, Edward Auer, Edmund Battersby, Menahem Pressler, Antoinette Perry, Daniel Pollack, and Robert Palmer.
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