On May 23rd, we celebrated the 2021 EXPO: New Works Competition in an Awards Ceremony at the DiMenna Center.
Congratulations to the winners of the
2021, inaugural year of EXPO!
Grand Prize: Katie Jenkins
"Monologue for Solo Vocalizing Cellist"
Katie Jenkins is a multi award-winning Welsh composer/producer now based in New York City. Her music can be identified by its unique way of weaving together tapestries of sounds and layering textures with a touch of Celtic flair as she draws on her Welsh roots. Jenkins engages in projects that encompass many forms of music making from the concert hall, to multimedia environments, to dance and film. She thrives off collaboration and enjoys including musicians closely in her creative process. Learn more about Katie here.
2nd Prize: Nizar Bredan
"Journey" for solo piano
Nizar Bredan was born in a suburb of Tripoli, Libya’s capital, before relocating to Brussels as a young child. Elements of his diverse cultural heritage emerge in his work, from the subtle melodic flourishes in his piano compositions that evoke Libya’s Oriental influences to his penchant for layering in mixed-media photography. As a self-taught artist, he has been playing and composing by ear since his beginnings. In fact, he can't read or write music, he just lets his soul create it. Learn more about Nizar here.
3rd Prize: Ziyi Tao
"收铁人" for solo acoustic guitar
Ziyi Tao, 18, was born in Beijing, China. He recently graduated from the Special Music School in New York, studying composition with Dr. Max Grafe. Other prominent teachers have included Jon Deak, Molly Herron, Justin Jay Hines, Shedrick Mitchell, Alexander Yagupsky, and Dr. Reiko Fueting. Ziyi has been fortunate to have his works performed by a number of prominent artists and ensembles, including soprano Lucy Shelton, percussionist Christopher Graham, the Parhelion Trio, the New York Philharmonic, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Learn more about Ziyi here.
Each winner had their music made into a film to tell a story that we heard within it. We premiered these films at an interactive event and awards ceremony at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in NYC on May 23rd.
Interested in EXPO?
Learn more about the competition below.
Art Beyond the Ink is guided by the philosophy that every piece of music tells a story. We want to bring YOUR story to life.
In the inaugural year of EXPO: New Works Competition, we seek composer submissions to be paired with interdisciplinary performance in a multi-media narrative film.
Sketches of Love, directed by Em Messana, is our latest film which pairs a classical violin sonata with contemporary dance. You can watch the video here.
If you are familiar with our previous work, you may recognize that we often produce content for children. These videos will NOT be for young audiences, but subject matter of stories will remain appropriate to all ages.
All submitted works will be considered for future projects.
Three winners are selected with prizes as follows:
GRAND PRIZE: $1,500 + COMMISSION for new work (5-7 minutes) to be used in a collaborative video project (Composer may choose to assist with story/preference of interdisciplinary pairing)
SECOND PRIZE: $450 + VIDEO PROJECT to be made with existing, submitted score (story/interdisciplinary pairing is at the discretion of ABI)
THIRD PRIZE: $250 + VIDEO PROJECT to be made with existing, submitted score (story/interdisciplinary pairing is at the discretion of ABI)
All three winners also receive high quality audio recordings of their work, recorded at Skillman Music in Brooklyn, NY.
Application Process:
The application is free and has no age restrictions. Please submit one work of ANY genre/style that is:
for 1-5 players (must be able to be performed and recorded in-studio by live people - no fixed media only!)
4-10 minutes long
written in the last 10 years
This competition is only open to early-career composers. We describe an "early-career" composer as someone who is in school, a recent graduate, or someone who pursues composition as a hobby or side gig.
PLEASE NOTE: We produce instrumental music, so we will not accept submissions with lyrics. If vocals are included, they must be wordless or scatted vocalizations only. Minimal poetry/spoken word is allowed so long as content is original or in the public domain (failure to comply with this will result in disqualification). If using original words that are NOT your own, by someone close to you, you must submit a written letter of permission from the creator who wrote the words.
The submission should not currently be published. All rights to the work must be owned by you.
MIDI or recorded files are highly encouraged to include in your application, if available. With prepared materials, the application should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete.
For even more information, check out our application guide.
Once You’ve Applied:
Submissions closed on July 17th upon receiving 100 submissions. Winners will be announced in early September. All applicants will be contacted about the results of the competition. The winning films will premiere at an awards ceremony in May 2022.
IMPORTANT: Prize money will be awarded to the winners immediately, and audio recordings will follow within 1-2 months of the winner’s announcement (or in the grand prize winner’s case, within 1-2 months upon receipt of the finished commission, depending on difficulty level of parts). Please do not expect a finished film until the premiere date - we will be working during that time to ensure the highest possible quality!
Please email hello@artbeyondtheink.org with any questions concerning the competition or application process.
Judge’s Panel
For the 2021 round, our Judge’s panel consists of co-executive directors of Art Beyond the Ink, Emmalie Tello and Rebecca Schifilliti, along with Jens Ibsen and Big Stuff, led by Grace Mann and Franklin Rankin.
Jens Ibsen, composer/tenor, is a multidisciplinary artist whose vocal talents have led him to performances from Dubai to Shanghai, with stops along the way on German television, at Carnegie Hall, and the UN. Ibsen has been commissioned by numerous festivals including the Oregon Bach Festival Composer Symposium and the Impulse New Music Festival. Other recent commissions include Concrete Sea for the Cincinnati Song Initiative, and an upcoming piece for The Kennedy Center’s Cartography Project. Ibsen was a finalist in Beth Morrison Projects’ Next Gen Competition, which seeks out emerging voices in the field of new opera.
Hailing from the East Coast, Big Stuff weaves together stories of modern love and life as they navigate through their 20s. Led by Grace Mann and Franklin Rankin, the group pushes the boundaries of contemporary pop music with their lyrical and soul-infused sound. Influenced by the likes of Prince, Emily King, and Lianne La Havas, Big Stuff has a deep-rooted love for live instrumentation. The pair had their meet-cute at the Newport Jazz Festival. Though vaguely recognizing each other from shared circles, the spark was lit by a shared sense of humor which they continue to carry through every step of the creative process.