Since its inception in 1990, the Student Composer Project encourages young students to compose choral music and expand their knowledge of choral writing and repertoire. On Monday, May 7, Baltimore Choral Arts held its 27^th annual Student Composer Projects with winners Aaron Lieberman, Madeleine Moran, and Inti Figgis-Vizueta. The three composers were first invited to our concert, Duruflé Requiem, on Sunday, May 6, where they later were a part of an in-depth discussion on choral composition with Dr. Scott McAllister, Professor of Composition at Baylor University School of Music. Monday night, Music Director Anthony Blake Clark and Associate Conductor Leo Wanenchak led the Chamber Chorus in the reading of the three students' scores, and the students received insightful feedback and suggestions from Blake, Leo, Scott and the singers. 

Scott McAllister was born in Vero Beach, Florida, in 1969, and completed his doctorate in composition at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. McAllister has received numerous commissions, performances, and awards throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has also been featured at the Aspen, Chautauqua, and The Prague/American Institute Summer Festivals. McAllister has received awards, performances, and/or commissions from ASCAP, The American Composers Orchestra, The Rascher Quartet, The Leipzig Radio Orchestra, Richard Stoltzman, I Musici de Montreal, Charles Neidich, The President’s Own Marine Band, The Verdehr Trio, Jacksonville Symphony, Da Camera, The Ladislav Kubik Competition, The United States New Music Ensemble, The Florida Arts Council, and The Florida Bandmaster's Association. Scott McAllister is Professor of Composition at Baylor University. His music can be found on Lydmusic.com.

Aaron Lieberman, age 16, is a tenth grader at Gilman School in Baltimore, MD.  He studies cello with Daniel Levitov and composition with Judah Adashi at the Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore, where he is also a member of the Performance Academy and the Peabody Youth Orchestra.  Aaron was born in New York City and began his musical career at age five at the Bloomingdale School of Music on the cello, and began composing soon thereafter.  He has completed approximately twenty compositions, which have been performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and at the Peabody Conservatory, among other venues.  He has won multiple awards from the Peabody Preparatory for excellence in composition.

To watch an excerpt from Aaron Liberman's composition, The Road Goes Ever On and On, click here.

Madeleine Moran (b. 1996) is a composer, singer, and songwriter who expresses her love for music by creating and sharing it with others. Growing up in Washington, D.C., Madeleine sang in a choir at the Levine School of Music, took piano lessons, and was involved in musical theatre at Imagination Stage. At Sidwell Friends School, she performed in all of the musicals, sang in the chamber chorus, studied music theory, and began writing original songs and choral music. Currently, Madeleine is in her senior year of study toward a Bachelor of Music degree in composition at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where her music has been featured on the recitals of Conservatory instrumentalists, vocalists, and chamber ensembles. This summer, she is looking forward to attending the Lehigh University – ACDA Choral Composers Forum.

To watch an excerpt from Madeleine Moran's composition, After Great Pain, click here.

Inti Figgis-Vizueta is a non-binary Quechua/Latinx experimental composer from Washington, D.C. They strive to create works that emphasize the performer’s perceptions and physical self, focusing on process-based music. Through the integration of intersectional and liberation principles into the compositional process, Inti believes the subversive barriers between composer, player, and audience can be broken down, promoting a growth in performance practice and community. They are currently completing an M. M. at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

To watch an excerpt from Inti Figgis-Vizueta's composition, Only by the form, the pattern, click here.