photos by Ridgewood Friends of Music
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, In 2019 the Ridgewood Friends of Music held its first annual Emerging Composers Contest. There were five categories: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, College, and Adult. Composers were asked to submit an original piece of any genre, style, and length, and scored for any combination of instruments and/or voices. Submissions were received for the middle and high school categories and were judged by local, professional composers and music teachers Kenny Brescia, Jay Friedman, Lisa Plasse, and Joseph Turrin.
The winner of the Middle School Category is Hemang Mittal, 6th grade, GW Middle School; the winner of the High School Category is William Stewart, 11th grade. Both pieces were performed at the recent Friends of Music Annual Concert, which features local, professional musicians, that was held on Friday, January 10th. Hemang’s piece, “Yearning Night”, was performed on the instruments for which it was scored. The first movement of William’s piece, “Piano Concert #1”, is scored for orchestra, so a reduction was played by two pianists.
Ridgewood Public Schools and Friends of Music are immensely proud of all the students who submitted their works and look forward to showcasing young composers again this year through the contest. For information, visit www.ridgewoodfriendsofmusic.org.
