G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers, part of Wise Music Group, is proud to announce that the recipient of the 2020 G. Schirmer Prize for Luna Composition Lab is KiMani Bridges, with Honorable Mention for Olivia Bennett.
Inaugurated in 2019, the G. Schirmer Prize offers recognition and mentorship for select works by composers participating in in the education program founded by Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid with The Kaufman Music Center. Now in its fifth season, Luna Lab provides aspiring young female-identifying, non-binary, and gender nonconforming composers (ages 12-18) with a year of one-on-one mentorship, performance opportunities, and high-quality recordings of their work.
The G. Schirmer Prize is an annual award with a commitment for the next five years, offering access to publishing industry professionals and a cash prize, as well as educational mentoring and networking opportunities, to one Luna Lab composer each year.
“G. Schirmer, Inc/AMP is proud to once again honor and support the vital work of the Luna Composition Lab, its visionary leadership, and their partners The Kaufman Music Center. In an extremely challenging year they continued to provide a dynamic training program for these select emerging composers, providing them opportunities for both personal artistic growth and practical insights into the professional side of their present and future work. We eagerly look forward to following the development of KiMani, Olivia, and all the other very gifted composers in the program.”
— Peggy Monastra, Senior Promotion Adviser, Opera
“We are thrilled that KiMani’s originality and talent has been recognized by G. Schirmer. The resources provided through the Schirmer Prize will help provide KiMani the support necessary to reach the next stage in her musical journey, and we can’t wait to see what she does next. Congratulations to both KiMani and also to Olivia Bennett for her Honorable Mention.”
— Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid
2020 G. Schirmer Prize Recipient – KiMani Bridges
The Flower (2020)
flute, violin, viola, percussion
Watch
Kimani Bridges’ introduction
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s premiere
“My experience with the Luna Lab was amazing!! When I was accepted, I had only been writing for a little over a year and the program allowed me to explore what music was to me and how I relate to it. With the masterclasses, working with my mentor Ellen Reid, and talking with the other Luna Lab Fellows, the program as a whole gave me a boost of confidence and has aided me in learning how to trust myself, think realistically, and to believe in my craft. I’m very grateful to be a part of the Luna Lab. When I received the G. Schirmer prize, I was overjoyed! I’m excited to be a part of this program and learn more about the business side of music.”
— KiMani Bridges
Bridges, a senior at duPont Manual Magnet High School/Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, Kentucky, is a flutist and a composer. She has been playing the flute since she was 11 and started composing in 11th grade. She partakes in her school’s Symphonic Band, Chamber Ensemble, and Composition class. She has received numerous distinguished ratings for flute in KMEA Solo and Ensemble, has performed at Walt Disney World and the Field Museum, and has participated in multiple summer music camps. Her music has been performed at the University of Louisville, in her school’s New Works Festival, and recently was part of the Loretto Project’s Pathways Initiative Program. She was recently selected as a 2020 American Composers NextNotes winner. KiMani will be pursuing a career in music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music beginning in fall 2020.
2020 G. Schirmer Prize Honorable Mention – Olivia Bennett
Mass (2020)
string quartet
Watch
Olivia Bennett’s introduction
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s premiere
Olivia Bennett
“Luna Lab was one of the most influential and beneficial experiences for my growth as a musician. The program formed me into a more knowledgeable, critical-thinking composer.
“The meaning behind this piece does not involve the church mass, or anything religiously affiliated. Instead, the meaning is more concrete: substance, space, stuff. This work explores the textures and intensities that can be drawn from string instruments. Originally inspired by heavy metal music, I sought out ways to make it as extreme and straining as possible. In order for this to take effect, I juxtaposed the intensity with lightheartedness — bringing the crazier sections to life. Mass is a response to the anger, sadness, mourning, and anxiety that began to take place in the beginning of 2020.”
— Olivia Bennett
Bennett is an award-winning composer and performer from Southwest Missouri. Her music has been performed in many festivals and events including the Tanglewood Institute (’19), Mizzou’s Creating Original Music Program (’11, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20), Interlochen Arts Camp (’18), and American Composers Forum’s NextNotes (’19). She was also invited to compose for the National Youth Orchestra (as an apprentice composer), YoungArts Program (LA), and Kaufman Music Center’s Luna Lab Program in 2020. Bennett has been fortunate enough to study with many well-known composers including but not limited to Missy Mazzoli, Ellen Reid, Nico Muhly, Kristin Kuster, Jennifer Jolley, Stefan Freund, and her current teacher, Carlyle Sharpe. She has had her works played by the Columbia Civic Orchestra, Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra, Interlochen Philharmonic, Springfield Youth Symphony, and many chamber ensembles around the nation. Along with her composition studies, she loves to perform as both a soloist and in chamber and orchestra settings as a pianist and cellist. Bennett has played with the Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019-20 and Springfield Youth Symphony in 2018-19. She is extremely excited to attend Rice University in the fall of 2020.
About Luna Composition Lab
Luna Composition Lab, founded in 2016 by Ellen Reid and Missy Mazzoli with Kaufman Music Center, provides year-round mentorship, performances, and networking opportunities to female, non-binary, and gender non-conforming composers ages 12-18. In its first year the program garnered attention from The New York Times, The New Yorker, Musical America, The Huffington Post, and Spectrum News NY1, fostered the creation of three ambitious new works by Lab fellows, and culminated in a sold-out concert of their works at Brooklyn venue Roulette. Encouraged by this successful launch, Luna Lab has expanded to include five young composers and five mentors, and has expanded its scope to include promising young female composers from all over the country. Thanks to their participation in the program, Luna Lab alumni have recently been commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Opera Omaha, and have been offered admission to some of the country’s most prestigious and competitive conservatories and universities. At the end of each season, Luna Lab composers travel from all over the country to participate in five days of activities, rehearsals, and concerts in New York City.
About G. Schirmer
Part of Wise Music Group international network of publishing houses, G. Schirmer, Inc. is the oldest continuously active North American classical music publisher. Through its network of publishing houses, including Chester Music, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Alphonse Leduc, and Novello, the Group represents works by many of the most important creators from the 20th and 21st centuries, including Abrahamsen, Aucoin, Barber, Catán, Corigliano, Dennehy, Dorman, Einaudi, Ellington, Fenton, Frank, Ives, Lieberson, Lutoslawski, Menotti, Mazzoli, Muhly, Musgrave, Saariaho, Salonen, Snider, Sheng, Tan Dun, and Tavener. The company continues to be a driving force in classical music.
