G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers, part of Wise Music Group, is proud to announce the recipient of the 2021 G. Schirmer Prize for Luna Composition Lab: Azalea Twining and her composition Under Her Voices for piano trio.
Inaugurated in 2019, the G. Schirmer Prize offers recognition and mentorship for select works by composers participating in in the Luna Lab education program. Founded by Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid with Kaufman Music Center and now in its sixth 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. In the 20-21 season Luna Lab expanded to include six composer fellows in the program.
The G. Schirmer Prize is an annual award with a commitment to a total of five years. The prize offers access to publishing industry professionals, networking opportunities, and a cash award to one Luna Lab composer each year. The award for Azalea Twining is the third G. Schirmer Prize. The first was awarded to Joanna McDonald and the second to KiMani Bridges.
“G. Schirmer, Inc./AMP is very proud to continue honoring and supporting the invaluable work of the Luna Composition Lab, its visionary leadership, and their partners Kaufman Music Center. As the pandemic continued into 2021, they worked hard to create and engage these young composers in a rich and varied program working with wonderful personal composer mentors and guest speakers. While offering a long-range opportunity for personal growth, Luna Lab also provided the composers with two different performance opportunities for their final compositions in partnership both with International Contemporary Ensemble and Face the Music. We are thrilled to honor Azalea Twining and her very creative, thoughtful, skilled, and personal style that is already shining through at such a young age. We look forward with enthusiasm to offering her our support and following her future work.”
— Peggy Monastra, Senior Promotion Adviser
"When Azalea first applied to Luna Composition Lab at age 14 we were struck by her powerful and courageous vocal writing. Over the course of her year as a Luna Lab Fellow, Azalea learned how to expand her palette to include rich instrumental textures, evocative extended techniques, and we watched her original voice evolve in thrilling and unexpected ways. Azalea is a composer who knows no bounds. We’re confident that she will soon be a major new creative voice in the field, and we’re so happy that she is this year’s recipient of the Schirmer Prize."
— Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid, Luna Composition Lab Founders
“Luna Lab was a big turning point for me as a composer. Through working with Ellen Reid on my piece, Under Her Voices, I became more confident in my own voice, and gained the tools I needed to translate the music I was making in my head and heart onto a score and to performers. The piece was originally inspired by the emotional structure of an Eleanor Wilner poem called “Judgment.” I used the emotional arc as an outline and composed intuitively with those emotions in mind. Many of my musical ideas were generated using vocal improvisation, and then translated onto the instruments. Most of all, I wanted my composition to feel raw and authentic.
"Luna Lab is a community of truly amazing composers. I am constantly inspired by Ellen, Missy, the mentors, and the fellows, all of whom are creating stunning work. I am so grateful for the Luna Composition Lab and G. Schirmer for the Luna Lab Prize.”
— Azalea Twining
2021 G. Schirmer Prize Recipient Azalea Twining
Under Her Voices (2021)
piano, violin, cello
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View the Score
Azalea Twining (age 15) is a composer, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter from Harrisonburg, VA. She has studied voice with Eileen Clark since 2014 and composition with her Luna Lab mentor, Ellen Reid, for the past year. Azalea creates and performs original compositions through her high school’s Fine Arts Academy. She plans to pursue both composition and voice in the future. Azalea is currently working on a solo flute commission for Intersection Ensemble’s showcase, Listen, and recently attended the WNO Opera Institute and Eastman Summer Classical Studies programs as a vocalist. She is currently studying composition with Gity Razaz.
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. The company continues to be a driving force in classical music.
