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, NCTM.
Selection Process for WSMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year
By members’ request, and as one of the preferences indicated in the member survey in 2020, the CCOY committee will appoint a Commissioned Composer. 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 Louise Nedela, NCTM with your nomination.
ATTENTION: Past Commissioned Composers of the Year
WSMTA would like to include your commissioned piece on the WSMTA website via a link. Please contact [email protected] for more information. Looking forward to compiling the compositions of past Commissioned composers!
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.
2026 WSMTA Commissioned Composer: Miguel del Aguila
Miguel del Aguila, WSMTA 2026 Commissioned Composer of the Year will premiere his commissioned work at the WSMTA Conference in June. You can learn more about him at www.migueldelaguila.com.
Miguel resides in Seattle. His commissioned work will be for piano, titled Invisible Variations, and will be performed by Dr. Lark Powers of Pacific Lutheran University.
Miguel describes his piece as: “a set of didactic, progressive variations which can be performed individually by beginners and intermediate pianists; and as a whole set large work by advanced players.”
The following is taken from his website:
“I strive to write music that is sincere and that stirs intense emotions in the performer and the listener. Music that expresses my humanity, my times, my geography and my Latin heritage. Often rhythmically driven and virtuosic, I’m always concerned with its dramatic effectiveness. I don’t think in terms of trends or current styles of composition. The story that my music is telling determines its sound and form.”
Here are some of Miguel’s reviews:
“dependably brilliant” – The New Yorker Magazine
“sonically dazzling” – Los Angeles Times
“disarmingly genial” – San Francisco Sentinel
“expressive and dramatic” – American Record Guide
“with near to obsessive vitality” – Wiener Zeitung, Vienna
Click here to read more about Miguel del Aguila in the Clarion blog post.
Invisible Variations – for solo piano, Op. 140 (13:50)
(Variaciones Invisibles)
Commissioned by the WSMTA Composer of the Year Project 2025 and dedicated to pianist Lark Powers, this work unfolds as a set of theme‑and‑variations. Its theme – borrowed from my earlier piece Invisibles – is never stated outright; instead, each variation hints at it, gradually revealing fragments until it finally emerges in full darkness and drama in Variation IX.
The psychological arc resembles a conversation in which the true subject is avoided, concealed, and only partially disclosed until the moment of revelation. Once the theme appears, the music shifts character, opening into an almost romantic surge of emotion. The drama intensifies, then dissolves, fading away without resolution.
The eleven variations also serve a didactic purpose: they progress in order of difficulty and may be performed independently. As a whole, Invisible Variations begins with a light, impressionistic tone and moves through Latin jazz, tango, and Baroque‑inspired gestures, evolving toward a dramatic conclusion. The piece forms a single, organic movement.
Premiere: 2026 by Lark Powers.
Dr. Lark Powers, NCTM received a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado Boulder, and holds three Master’s degrees and a graduate performance diploma in piano from the Peabody Institute. Her undergraduate studies occurred at the University of the Pacific, after which she attended the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris. Her studies include a degree in harpsichord, so she is able to bring a unique perspective to her students in their study of the Baroque repertoire.
In demand as a solo and collaborative artist as well as an adjudicator and presenter, Lark has performed at such venues as Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, the 92nd Street Y in New York City and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Internationally she has been heard in Europe, Mexico and Canada, including performances at the International Festival of Spanish Keyboard Music in Spain, the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater in Mexico City, and the Bibliothèque de Dinan in France. In addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles, she appears in frequent two-piano concerts as part of the duo she forms with pianist Ricardo de la Torre.
WSMTA Commissioned Composers Since 1975
| 2026 | Miguel del Aguila |
| 2025 | Nicole Buetti |
| 2024 | Nathan Campbell |
| 2023 | Sean Osborn |
| 2022 | Shlomo Farber |
| 2021 | Dawn Sonntag |
| 2019 | Bruce Stark |
| 2018 | Keva Vaughan-McMorrow |
| 2017 | Brent Edstrom |
| 2016 | Gregory Youtz |
| 2015 | Gay Santerre |
| 2014 | Liz Nedela |
| 2013 | Reginald Unterseher |
| 2012 | Ryan Hare |
| 2011 | Robert Spittal |
| 2010 | Keva Vaughan-McMorrow |
| 2009 | Victoria Sabo |
| 2008 | Meg Mann |
| 2007 | Gail Gross |
| 2006 | Valerie Roubos |
| 2005 | Robert Lundquist |
| 2004 | B. J. Rosco |
| 2003 | Greg Yasinitsky |
| 2002 | Don Caron |
| 2001 | Greg Youtz |
| 2000 | Jonathon Middleton |
| 1999 | Clement Reid |
| 1998 | Carol Sams |
| 1997 | Charles Argersinger |
| 1996 | David Asplin |
| 1995 | David Jones |
| 1994 | Diane Thome |
| 1993 | Roger Briggs |
| 1992 | William Brandt |
| 1991 | James Beale |
| 1990 | Normand Poulshock |
| 1989 | Greg Short |
| 1988 | William Bergsma |
| 1987 | Bern Herbolsheimer |
| 1986 | Tomas Svoboda |
| 1985 | Alan Hovhaness |
| 1982 | Brother Ronald Hurst |
| 1981 | Michael Young |
| 1980 | Paul Polombo |
| 1978 | Wendal Jones |
| 1976 | William Doppman |
| 1975 | David Robbins |