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UK Choral Conducting Student Wins National Composition Contest
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 20, 2012) — Julian Bryson, doctoral student in choral conducting at the School of Music in the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts, has won the Raymond F. Brock Memorial Student Composition Contest sponsored by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). This competition is considered the major choral composition competition in the country.
One winner is chosen nationally each year by the Brock Memorial Contest and their winning composition is performed at the ACDA National Conference, which will be held in March, in Dallas, Texas. UK Women’s Choir will also be performing at the conference.
“When I opened the announcement letter, I had to read it three or four times before I believed what it said. This is obviously the greatest honor of my career, and a tremendous opportunity to share a unique musical experience with so many experts in choral music,” said Bryson, who studies under Professor Jefferson Johnson, director of UK Choral Activities.
Bryson’s piece titled “Redemption Mass” was performed last spring by the UK Chorale and that recording was submitted to ACDA along with the composer's application. The winner is chosen by an independent panel of distinguished choral musicians and/or composers.
The Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Contest was initiated in 1998 and is an opportunity for young composers to showcase their talents and to have their work premiered at an ACDA conference.
The ACDA is a nonprofit music education organization, representing more than one million singers across the United States. The central purpose of this organization is to promote excellence in choral music through performance, composition, publication, research, and teaching.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716
or whitney.hale@uky.edu
