(Orlando, FL – October 13, 2010) – The Orlando Philharmonic is proud to announce the winners of the 2010 Young Composer’s Challenge.  Supported by a grant from the Stephen Goldman Charitable Foundation, Harriett Lake, The Rupert Family, The University of Central Florida (UCF), Full Sail University, Rollins College and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Young Composer’s Challenge was open to all composers ages 13 – 18 from around the United States.

The winning composers are:

Chamber Ensemble Category:

Sam Hooper, age 17, from Austin, TX for his composition, Preparation: Trio for English Horn and Strings

Joseph Prior, age 15, from Winter Park, FL, for his composition, Dance Royale

Craig Brotherton, age 17, from Mount Dora, FL, for his composition, Tayna

Full Orchestra Category:

Christian McLaughlin, age 17, from Davenport, FL for his composition, Uni Yunie

Stephen Spies, age 16, from Albany, CA, for his composition, Atlantis

Nathan Blair, age 16, from Cumming, GA, for his composition, Symphonic Poem in A-flat “The Beloved”

The winning composers had their pieces performed by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra at a concert on October 10 at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre.

The challenge included a Young Composer’s Workshop, held on March 13, 2010. Attendees were taught the principles of composition, orchestration, music notation, scoring software, and MIDI technology from nationally-recognized composers. Demonstrations of each orchestral instrument by top professional musicians were also provided, along with tips for writing for those instruments. Additionally, young composers brought their compositions and received feedback from successful composers.

Judges for the composition were Stephen Goldman, composer, philanthropist and founder of Distributed Processing Technology; Dan Crozier, award-winning composer and Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition at Rollins College; Keith Lay, award-winning composer and Course Director in the Music History Department at Full Sail; and Christopher Marshall, head of composition at UCF and recipient of numerous national and international commissions.

“The Young Composer’s Challenge is an excellent opportunity to showcase young talent,” said Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Executive Director David Schillhammer. “Mozart started writing his own compositions at an early age. But, unlike Mozart, today’s students have little to no opportunity to actually hear their compositions performed.  Thanks to the generosity of Stephen Goldman, once a young composer himself, these young and talented students have this unique opportunity to have their compositions performed by a major orchestra.”

For more information on the 2010 Young Composer’s Challenge, visit www.YoungComposersChallenge.org or phone 407-770-0071.