Commissioned Compositions

The Michigan Music Teachers Association sponsors a commissioned composition each year to be presented at the annual state conference.

The current commission, in collaboration with MTNA, is $1500. The composition is then submitted for consideration for the MTNA-Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year Award. The composer selected by the national panel is awarded $5000 following the performance of the new work at the national conference. MMTA will also award $250 for the composition selected as first runner-up.

MMTA requires the commissioned composition to be 10-15 minutes in length and to be written for no more than six instruments or voices. It is the responsibility of the composer to attend the State Conference, provide performers for the presentation of the work, and arrange for the recording of the composition and its submission to the national office for further consideration. We encourage composers from Michigan to apply, please see restrictions below. No funds are provided for travel, hotel, performer, or recording expenses.

How to Apply

If you would like to be considered for the commission, please submit your materials electronically to roederer@wmich.edu by December 31. The score must be a pdf file and the recording must be an mp3 file.

Results

Entries will be evaluated and all entrants are notified as soon as a winner and runner-up have been selected.

Additional Requirements

NO identification of composer’s name or institutional affiliation is allowed on scores or recordings to ensure anonymous adjudication.

Please include your name and street address in the body of your email submission (not the attachment), and use “[Current Year] MMTA Commissioned Composer” as the subject line.

In addition to title and instrumentation, please include the time length of the composition on your scores.

Composer must be an American citizen
Composer must be a legal resident of Michigan, or be a student or teach at a Michigan school
Composer must be at least 18 years of age
Composer may not have been previously commissioned by MMTA for this event
Send only ONE composition to be judged
Composition must be written within the last 2 years
Submitted pieces must be no longer than 15 minutes

For More Information:

Contact Silvia Roederer, Commissioned Composer Chair
2631 Parkwyn Drive, Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Phone: (269) 267-2287
Email: roederer@wmich.edu

Dr. Silvia Roederer
Commissioned Composer Competition Chair

Nicole Knorr

Introducing 2024 Winner

Nicole Knorr Composer Nicole Knorr (b. 1999) is a composer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her work investigates transformation, change, and growth—often through the lens of the natural world. Her music has been described as having “remarkable command of melody” and is characterized by gleaming lyricism, sharp counterpoint, and a fundamental, underlying sense of whimsy. Current creative projects include a song cycle in collaboration with NeuroArts Productions and a new work for Haven Trio that was premiered at Connecticut Summerfest 2024. In the past, she has had the honor of collaborating with renowned ensembles such as Sinta Quartet, Estrella Consort, Brain Pocket, and VIRID duo, among other groups and personal commissions. Equally passionate as an educator, Nicole’s work ranges from private studio lessons in piano, voice, and composition, to curriculum development at larger institutions, such as Interlochen Center for the Arts summer program. She engages students in a variety of musical disciplines and perspectives to equip them with a well-rounded education; she actively strives to provide her students skills beyond the scope of traditional, conservatory-style methods. Nicole earned her M.M. in Music Composition from the University of Michigan, and her B.M. in Voice Performance and Piano Performance from the University of North Florida. Her mentors include Evan Chambers, Michael Daugherty, Erin K. Bennett, John Daugherty, Mathew Fuerst, and Joshua Tomlinson. https://www.nicoleknorr.com/

Based in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, FLYDLPHN is a contemporary mixed chamber ensemble committed to fostering collaborations with artists and sound makers who celebrate the unique. With support from commissions, FLYDLPHN cultivates a distinctive panoramic soundscape making extensive use of electro-acoustic, multimedia, and improvised performance. We desire to build a community that empowers the sharing of art from young and underrepresented voices, and we do so with our various productions in compelling spaces throughout the year. Ultimately, we are a collective of friends who are excited to create together. When given one chance to breach the surface of the cosmic soup, we are grateful to be the dolphin in midair showing our best trick to the world. FLYDLPHN is flutist Lexi Eubanks, clarinetist Oliver Bishop, bassoonist Bryce Richardson, bassist Emani Barber, and percussionists Olivia Cirisan and Ancel Fitzgerald Neeley.

Alexis C. Lamb

Introducing 2023 Winner

Alexis C. Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator whose work seeks to cultivate a connectedness to natural, historical, and societal relationships. As a composer, Lamb has collaborated with numerous ensembles and individuals, including Third Coast Percussion, Aizuri Quartet, Opera Omaha, Albany (NY) Symphony, Vera Quartet, Camilla Tassi, Contemporaneous, Emily Roller, Yale Philharmonia, and Evan Chapman. As a percussionist, Lamb has recently found joy in improvising in a variety of natural soundscapes, listening to how the natural world responds to her human-made music. Her performance is highly influenced by the philosophies and Deep Listening practices of the late Pauline Oliveros. Lamb was also a performer from 2013-2020 with Projeto Arcomusical. As an educator, Lamb’s work runs the gamut from private lessons to curriculum development, to clinics and large classes. Her recent work has included developing the Creative Music-Making program for the Yale Music in Schools Initiative as well as serving as a Graduate Student Instructor at University of Michigan, a Teaching Fellow for the Department of Music at Yale University, and a 6-12th grade band director in Stillman Valley, Illinois. Lamb is a recipient of a 2022 Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award and a 2021 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a doctoral candidate in composition at the University of Michigan and previously earned degrees from Yale School of Music and Northern Illinois University. Her works are self-published and available at alexislamb.com.

Michael Kropf

Introducing 2022 Winner

Michael Kropf is a Michigan-based composer whose work deals with hidden emotions and evocative places. He has collaborated with Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony, the Apple Hill String Quartet, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. His music has been described as “a brilliant, rapid fire stretch of perpetual motion,” by the SF Chronicle’s Joshua Kosman. Recent project include a violin sonata for violinist Matt Albert and pianist Forrest Howell, and a violin concerto for Sabrina Tabby and Contemporaneous.

Michael is also an active music teacher, pianist, violinist, and conductor. He has taught classes at the University of Michigan, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College and the Academy of Art. He serves as an academic dean and faculty member at the Walden School Young Musicians Young Musician’s Program in New Hampshire.

He earned his doctoral degree in composition at The University of Michigan in 2022, where he studied with Kristin Kuster and Evan Chambers. He received his Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory in 2016, where he studied with David Conte. He has also received private study in composition from John Adams.

His work has received recognition from insitutions including ASCAP, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the The Music Teacher’s National Association.

Stephen Mitton

Introducing 2021 Winner

Stephen Mitton (b. 1991) is a composer, performer, and educator based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Music Composition at the University of Michigan where he has studied composition with Bright Sheng and Michael Daugherty. Stephen also holds a Master’s degree in Music Composition from Arizona State University where he studied with Jody Rockmaker, James DeMars, and Rodney Rogers.

Stephen has written socially and environmentally conscious music for a wide variety of genres ranging from contemporary dance to full orchestra. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants and was most recently named MMTA’s Commissioned Composer for the year 2021. He has received commissions from various performers across the country, as well as several groups and organizations including Winona State University, Chicago Public Schools, the Arizona State University Bands and Orchestras, the Arizona State University BioDesign Institute, and the Arizona Flute Society. In his compositions, Stephen aims to grab audiences’ attention by generating short, memorable motifs and melodies that serve an overarching narrative or concept and is intrigued by the possibilities that open up when a variety of harmonic languages converge to this end: lush tonality interspersed with harmonies built on open fourths and fifths; Debussian flourishes juxtaposed with twelve-tone rows. His music is frequently centered on exploring the mental landscapes where memories, dreams, and obscure emotions overlap, often working with concepts like nostalgia, liminality, and the development or perception of one’s sense of self as time passes. Mitton is also deeply engaged in music about humankind’s impact on the environment and the Earth’s immense biodiversity, having written music about plastics pollution in the oceans and wildlife conservation, among similar topics. Stephen is also an active performer, with a bachelor’s degree in cello performance from Utah State University where he studied chamber music with the Fry Street Quartet. He has participated in master classes with such groups as the Emerson, Ying, and Brentano String Quartets, and has given well-received performances throughout the country. As an educator 25 and pedagogue, Stephen has taught music at both the K-12 level and the collegiate level for over a decade, having held teaching appointments at Utah State University, Arizona State University, BASIS Charter Schools, and the University of Michigan. Much of Stephen’s current work centers on championing emerging composers by facilitating commissioning projects with local ensembles and school districts through his publishing company, Leading Tones Music.

Gala Flagello

Introducing 2020 Winner

The music of composer Gala Flagello (b. 1994) “is both flesh and spirit, intensely psychological without sacrificing concrete musical enjoyment” (Lana Norris, I Care If You Listen). She is also the Festival Director and co-founder of the nonprofit contemporary music festival Connecticut Summerfest. Gala is a recipient of the Edward Diemente Prize for Excellence in Creative Activity (The Hartt School), the Artist Scholarship (Artists for World Peace), and the Dorothy Greenwald Graduate Fellowship (University of Michigan). She is the winner of the 2020–2021 Promenade Opera Project Composer Residency, the 2020 Sinta Quartet Composition Competition, the 2020 Michigan Music Teachers Association Commissioned Composer Prize, and the 2017 Dulciana Vocal Ensemble (Dublin, Ireland) Call for New Works. Gala was also recently commissioned by the Albany (NY) Symphony for the Dogs of Desire web premieres series during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gala is enthusiastic about collaborating with performers, educators, and artists of all kinds. She has received two EXCEL Enterprise Grants for her projects Educational New Music for Developing Voices (2017) and The Contemporary Solo Horn (2018). Her piece Self-Talk, which was premiered at National Sawdust in August 2018, is featured on Vanguard Reed Quintet’s recently released debut album, Red Leaf Collection. Gala is also a three-time collaborator of DAMET Percussion, writing Precious Metals and Fragile Goods for Natural Beauty, a multimedia touring show that aims to demonstrate humans’ impact on our environment. Gala holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition degree from The Hartt School, a Master of Music in Composition degree from the University of Michigan, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan. Her major composition teachers have included Michael Daugherty, Kristin Kuster, Evan Chambers, and Robert Carl, and she has studied horn with Susan Spaulding and David Wakefield. Gala’s works are self-published, with select works published by independent, eco-friendly publisher Just a Theory Press. To learn more about Gala, please visit https://www.galaflagello.com/

Matriarch for Wind Quintet (2020) Gala Flagello Performed by Pure Winds Colton Wansitler, flute Andrea Silverio, oboe Nick Schumacher, clarinet Natalie Law, bassoon Dominic Hayes, horn Recording by Kinsmen Sound Studio The 2020 commissioned work is funded jointly by the Music Teachers National Association and the Michigan Music Teachers Association. Program notes Matriarch, written for the 2020 Michigan Music Teachers Association Commissioned Composer Prize, was inspired by my two grandmothers, Dianne Flagello and Olive Herring, who were matriarchs in every sense of the word. From them, I learned how to lead, energize, forgive, empathize, persevere, and, most relevantly to this piece, evolve. Grandma and Nanny are true role models, and this made me wonder what parts of myself come from them. When I react to a difficult situation or celebrate an accomplishment, the way in which I do it is borne of the family who came before me. Matriarch uses musical material based on my own name to demonstrate how we learn to move through the world through the lives of our ancestors. The Gala Flagello theme encounters many twists and turns as it adapts to changes in its environment (texture), headspace (range), personal circle (voicing), and age (duration). When I reach 90, as Grandma will this year, or 93, like Nanny did, I hope to be even half the matriarch these women represent to me. Special thanks to the Michigan Music Teachers Association and Music Teachers National Association for supporting the Commissioned Composer Prize, and to Pure Winds for premiering Matriarch and championing new music for wind quintet. —Gala Flagello, September 2020