NEC Composers Win American Prize Awards
The American Prize Competition 2015 awards Travis Alford '08 M.M. and Shawn Crouch '00 First and Third Place in Composition.
This past week, two New England Conservatory alumni were awarded first and third place by the American Prize 2015 jury committee. First place went to Travis Alford '08 M.M. for his composition O Fragile Human, Speak... Third place went to Shawn Crouch '00 for Paradise.
The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit, national competitions designed to recognize and reward the very best in the performing arts in the United States—in schools and churches, and at community and professional levels. The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually.
About Travis Alford
Travis Alford is a composer, trumpeter, and improviser whose music has received recognition from the League of Composers/ISCM, ASCAP, American Composers Alliance, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Brandeis Office of the Arts. As a trumpeter, Travis has performed with the New England Philharmonic, Boston New Music Initiative, Equilibrium Concert Series, New Music Brandeis, Park Street Brass, and Northeast Italian Band. More about Travis Alford
About Shawn Crouch
Gramophone Magazine calls Shawn Crouch a "gifted composer" and Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times describes Crouch's work as music of "gnarling atonal energy." Crouch has received awards and accolades from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ASCAP, Yale University, Meet the Composer, and the Percussive Arts Society. He is the inaugural recipient of the Dale Warland Singers Commissioning Award given by Chorus America and the American Composers Forum. More about Shawn Crouch
About the American Prize
The American Prize is judged solely through recorded performances. A live competition does not occur. Competitors complete the application and submit CD, DVD, or VHS video of performances by the deadline date. The Competition considers each application, selects and notifies semi-finalists, finalists and winners, according to the timetable published for each event.
Winners in each category receive cash prizes, award certificates, and written evaluations from the jury. Financial awards range from $100 to $500 or more. The American Prize has awarded nearly $35,000 in cash prizes in all categories since 2010.