Congratulations to Michael Ippolito, winner of our 2019 Call for Scores! Michael's String Quartet No. 3 “Songlines” is a deeply moving work that draws on elements of nature, creation and ancient Australian Aboriginal spirituality. In Michael’s words, the quartet explores humanity’s “nomadic past, the nature of restlessness and the poetry and universal appeal of ancient animist beliefs.” To learn more about Michael, you can read a brief bio below.
We would also like to recognize four Finalists:
Xavier Xu - "The Seasons: Paraphrases of Tchaikovsky"
Alejandro Rutty - "Exhaling Space"
Augusta Read Thomas - “Chi”
inti figgis-vizueta “love reacts only”
We were delighted to receive 73 submissions to this year’s Call for Scores, which drew on the concept of “Variations." We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all of the participants who sent in their scores this year. There were so many wonderful and unique works, and it was a pleasure for us to review them. While the U.S. was represented by the majority of submissions, other participants hailed from Canada, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the U.K.
As winner, Michael Ippolito will receive:
Multiple performances of his String Quartet No. 3 “Songlines” during the Tesla Quartet’s 2019-2020 season
A $500 honorarium
A professionally produced live recording of the work
About the composer:
Praised by the New York Times for his “polished orchestration” that “glitters, from big-shoulders brass to eerily floating strings,” Michael Ippolito’s music has been performed by leading musicians in venues around the world. Drawing on a rich musical background of classical and folk music, and taking inspiration from visual art, literature and other art forms, he has forged a distinctive musical voice in a body of work spanning orchestral, chamber and vocal music.
His orchestral music has been conducted by Edo de Waart, Marin Alsop, Michael Francis, David Alan Miller, and Jeffrey Milarsky in performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard Orchestra. His chamber music has been performed by the Attacca Quartet, Miro Quartet, the Altius Quartet, Dinosaur Annex, and janus, among others, and his vocal music has been championed by sopranos Joèlle Harvey and Lindsay Kesselman.
He has received commissions from numerous organizations, including Carnegie Hall and The ASCAP Foundation, The Florida Orchestra, Chamber Music America, the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble, ensemble 20/21 in Cologne, and the New York Choreographic Institute.
Ippolito is currently Assistant Professor of Composition at Texas State University. He studied with John Corigliano at The Juilliard School and with Joel Hoffman and Michael Fiday at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.