LA Philharmonic's Composer Fellowship Program Announces Class Of 2017-2018

Four high school-age students will compose works to be premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall in March 2018. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has been premiering works by high school composers for the last decade through the Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program (CFP). The new works will be performed by the LA Phil during Toyota Symphonies for Youth concerts, a series created especially for children age five to eleven, on March 24 and March 31.

Founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky, the program, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2016, is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for high school-age composers to become a part of the LA Phil's thriving new music community. The innovative program offers its Fellows a high level of consistent and intensive focus on the process and production of music composition, preparing them for careers in composition and giving them the tools and freedom necessary to shape the future of concert music. Students develop their artistic voice as they grow a robust portfolio of works through an unprecedented level of access to one of the world's leading orchestras. Fellows participate in reading sessions, rehearsals, and performances of their own works, and attend 15 to 20 LA Phil concerts every year, including the LA Phil's new music-focused Green Umbrella series.

This year, under the direction of world-renowned, award-winning composer Andrew Norman, CFP introduces a new, more flexible program model, which aims to provide an even stronger foundation for students to shape the future of orchestral music. The new model divides this year's 18 Fellows into project-driven cohorts which hone students' compositional skills. Fellows work with chamber groups and smaller ensembles, refining their abilities to work with the raw elements of the orchestra. They then apply their skills to orchestration exercises and work with an orchestra during their CFP career. Some have the chance to work with the LA Phil.

"To be an orchestral composer, you need an orchestra. It's very difficult to actually start. What this program offers that is really so amazing is that...during their tenure the composers get to write for the whole orchestra, and that is just incredible," says Program Director Andrew Norman.

All Fellows engage with prestigious chamber groups and many of the world's greatest living composers. Past artists have included the Calder Quartet, Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, the International Contemporary Ensemble, musicians from wild Up, and musicians from the LA Phil. Composer visitors have included John Corigliano, John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg, and many others.
CFP also provides its Fellows with a conduit into a cohesive new music community comprised of leading creative artists in the field, their mentors, their peers, and the program's growing number of alumni - who are now being commissioned and performed by major orchestras and ensembles, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Sioux City Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Columbus Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Jacaranda, Contemporaneous, Boston Metro Opera, National Children's Chorus, and many others. CFP Fellows have gone on to study at Juilliard, Yale, Harvard, Curtis Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, University of Southern California, Brandeis, Brown, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and other top music institutions.

The 18 participants of the 2017/18 Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program are:

Adam Karelin, 16, senior at North Hollywood High School: Highly Gifted Magnet Benjamin Beckman, 16, junior at Harvard-Westlake School Benjamin Champion, 17, senior at Idyllwild Arts Academy Charles Meenaghan, 16, junior at Harvard-Westlake School Dylan Knowles, 16, junior at K12 - California Virtual Academies, Los Angeles Dylan Ollivier, 16, senior at Santa Monica High School Esther Ollivier, 16, senior at Harvard-Westlake School Ethan Moffitt, 16, senior at Verdugo Academy Isaac Pross, 17, senior at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences Katherine Pieschala, 16, junior at Polytechnic School Katherine Tam, 16, senior at Walnut High School Leo Major, 14, sophomore at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences Jahan Raymond, 15, sophomore at home school Robby Good, 17, senior at William S. Hart High School Rylan Daniels, 16, sophomore at Windward School Sacha Feldman, 16, junior at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences Sydney Wang, 14, freshman at La Cañada High School Ezra Shcolnik, 16, junior at Colburn Music Academy

A performance showcasing select chamber and small ensemble works will take place on January 27 at 2:00 PM in Walt Disney Concert Hall's Choral Hall. This concert is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required.

More information about Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellowship Program can be found at laphil.com/CFP

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres - orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music and pop - at two of L.A.'s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (www.hollywoodbowl.com). The LA Phil's season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May, and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, education and community programs.

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