To encourage the creation of new music by American composers, the Washington State Music Teachers Association partners with the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) to commission new works. Each year, WSMTA commissions a Washington State composer to write a composition to be premiered at the State Conference in June. Commissioned composers will receive $2,500.
The composer may then submit their composition to the MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year committee the following fall. This committee selects one composer to be honored as the National Distinguished Composer of the Year, whose composition is then performed at the MTNA national conference. All compositions are placed in the MTNA Commissioned Works Library.
Every composer involved to date has shown excitement and enthusiasm for this project, often stating that it gives them an incentive to accomplish something they might not have done otherwise. The composers are often asked to provide an intermediate-level composition for students to learn.
If you have questions, please contact Commissioned Composer Committee Chair Louise Nedela.
The process for selecting the WSMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year has changed.
By members’ request, and as one of the preferences indicated in the member survey in 2020, the CCOY committee will appoint a Commissioned Composer for 2025. That appointment will be announced in the September edition of the Clarion. If anyone wishes to nominate a composer (especially those who might not see the Clarion), please contact me with your nomination.
MISSION STATEMENT
The WSMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year is the Washington State segment of the MTNA Composer Commissioning Program. MTNA is dedicated to encouraging the creation of new works by American composers, and annually assists its affiliated State Associations with the generation and performance of new music through the national Composer Commissioning program. A newly commissioned work receives its premiere performance at the convention of the State MTA, which is then submitted to a panel of recognized composers for selection of the MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year.
2024 Commissioned Composer of the Year
Nathan Campbell
We are pleased to announce the 2024 Commissioned Composer of the Year, Nathan Campbell, composer, pianist, and music educator in Bellingham, Washington. He earned a BM in Composition at Chapman University, and completed his MM in Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Nathan was the winner of the 2013 San Francisco Shanghai International Chamber Music Competition. He also was the winner of the 2014 Highsmith competition, and the 2023 Marsha Wright Sonatina Festival. He has worked with such groups as Friction Quartet, FEARnoMUSIC, The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, The SFCM Orchestra, The Firebird Ensemble, Beyond Pluck, Phonochrome, and the International Low Brass Trio.
More about Nathan and his music can be found on his website and on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/nathan-campbell-composer
Nathan’s Proposal for the WSMTA 2024 CCOY, to be performed at the 2024 WSMTA Conference:
“Having watched a few recent interviews with the crew of NASA’s next Artemis mission, I’ve found myself spending more time gazing up at the stars and thinking about the planets and their orbits around the sun. I’ve found myself comparing our own routines to the orbits of planets. We pass in and out of each other’s lives on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis, but yet somehow, we remain connected through the influence of these orbits as our routines bring us in and out of each other’s lives.”
“I plan to capture this idea in a composition for piano and cello. The piano will create a minimalistic texture of overlapping harmonic progressions moving at different speeds, with each progression representing an orbit. The cello will present a melodic line highlighting the shared notes of each progression and act as a representation of the connection and influence between the orbits.”
Sean Osborn, 2023 Commissioned Composer of the Year
The performance of the 2023 Commissioned Composer of the Year was held at the June WSMTA conference: Sean Osborn’s commissioned work will now be forwarded to MTNA for the national portion of the Commissioned Composer project. We wish him success! A recording will be on the WSMTA website soon.
Celtic Sonata for Flute and Piano, Sean Osborn, 2023 CCOY
- Cerridwen
- Morrigan
- Taliesin
Sarah Bassingthwaighte, Flute
Dainius Vaičekonis, Piano
The 2023 Commissioned Piece by Sean Osborn has been forwarded to MTNA for consideration for the Distinguished Composer of the Year. We wish him success on an excellent composition: Celtic Sonata for Flute and Piano.
ATTENTION PAST CCOY’s:
We would like to include your commissioned piece on the WSMTA
website via a link. Please contact louisenedela@gmail.com for more information. We look forward to compiling the compositions of past CCOY’s!
WSMTA Commissioned Composers Since 1975
| 1975 | David Robbins |
| 1976 | William Doppman |
| 1978 | Wendal Jones |
| 1980 | Paul Polombo |
| 1981 | Michael Young |
| 1982 | Brother Ronald Hurst |
| 1985 | Alan Hovhaness |
| 1986 | Tomas Svoboda |
| 1987 | Bern Herbolsheimer |
| 1988 | William Bergsma |
| 1989 | Greg Short |
| 1990 | Normand Poulshock |
| 1991 | James Beale |
| 1992 | William Brandt |
| 1993 | Roger Briggs |
| 1994 | Diane Thome |
| 1995 | David Jones |
| 1996 | David Asplin |
| 1997 | Charles Argersinger |
| 1998 | Carol Sams |
| 1999 | Clement Reid |
| 2000 | Jonathon Middleton |
| 2001 | Greg Youtz |
| 2002 | Don Caron |
| 2003 | Greg Yasinitsky |
| 2004 | B. J. Rosco |
| 2005 | Robert Lundquist |
| 2006 | Valerie Roubos |
| 2007 | Gail Gross |
| 2008 | Meg Mann |
| 2009 | Victoria Sabo |
| 2010 | Keva Vaughan-McMorrow |
| 2011 | Robert Spittal |
| 2012 | Ryan Hare |
| 2013 | Reginald Unterseher |
| 2014 | Liz Nedela |
| 2015 | Gay Santerre |
| 2016 | Gregory Youtz |
| 2017 | Brent Edstrom |
| 2018 | Keva Vaughan-McMorrow |
| 2019 | Bruce Stark |
| 2021 | Dawn Sonntag |
| 2022 | Shlomo Farber |
| 2023 | Sean Osborn |
| 2024 | Nathan Campbell |