Junior Guildhall student Ethan Lieber shortlisted for NCEM Young Composers Award
We were pleased to hear the news that in November, Ethan was shortlisted in the 18 Years and Under category at the National Centre for Early Music’s Young Composers Award, in association with BBC Radio 3 and The Tallis Scholars.
The award was judged at the NCEM on Wednesday 11 November when the shortlist of entries was performed by Ex Corde ensemble, the consort of the Ebor Singers. Earlier in the day, the shortlisted pieces had been rehearsed in a workshop for the young composers led by composer Christopher Fox.
For the 2020 award, composers were invited to create a new polyphonic work for unaccompanied choir, setting either the Our Father (Pater Noster) prayer from St Matthew’s Gospel, or the first and last verses of George Herbert’s poem The Flower. Hear Lieber’s arrangement of The Flower here.
The judges were Peter Phillips, Director of The Tallis Scholars; Les Pratt, Producer, BBC Radio 3; Delma Tomlin, Director of the National Centre for Early Music.
Ethan Lieber says: "I was delighted to be shortlisted for the NCEM Young Composers Award as it was my first competition I had entered for. I was able to get into the final and experience a piece of my own come to life by a professional choir. Studying composition at Junior Guildhall has been a monumental point in my life as Jeffery is such an inspiring knowledgeable character who teaches you not only about composition, but all elements of music. Having a mentor such as Jeffery has expanded my mind and given me more freedom to create. Junior Guildhall is a very inspiring environment filled with committed musicians which pushes me beyond my boundaries."
Jeffery Wilson, Professor of Composition at Junior Guildhall says: "Ethan is one of those musicians who sits as comfortably in an academic environment as he does in the recording studio as a commercial music artist. His beautiful setting of the George Herbert poem ‘The Flower’ is such an atmospheric and assured piece of writing. As Ethan and many of his contemporaries from Junior Guildhall prepare for their various interviews towards higher education in music, I am mindful of the generations of ex-composition students who now pursue their professional careers. From the concert stage, Hollywood studios and University music departments all over the world, our alumni speak well of us."
Students interested in getting an insight into studying composition at Guildhall School and Junior Guildhall, can apply for Guildhall School's online Young Composers Course. The course, which is part of the Guildhall Young Artists division, begins on Wednesday 20 January 2021.