G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers, part of Wise Music Group, is proud to announce the winner of the 2023 G. Schirmer Prize for Luna Composition Lab: Lili M. Namazi, for their composition [to be determined].
Inaugurated in 2019, the G. Schirmer Prize offers mentorship and recognition for select works by composers participating in Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid’s program for young female, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming composers. Now in its seventh season, Luna Composition Lab provides aspiring young composers with a year of one-on-one mentorship, performance opportunities, and high-quality recordings of their work. The G. Schirmer Prize is annually given to one Luna Lab Fellow; it provides them with financial support, as well as publishing industry mentorship and networking opportunities.
2023 G. Schirmer Prize Winner
Lili M. Namazi is a composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Their works have been performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, New York Youth Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra-USA. Lili has held fellowships with the Luna Composition Lab, the National Youth Orchestra-USA, and From the Top and is a proud alumnus of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the New York Youth Symphony Composition Program, and the NJPAC Jazz for Teens program. Lili’s music draws upon a wide variety of musical traditions, including Persian classical, the popular music of their childhood, and other art forms such as literature and visual art to create immersive sensory experiences through sound. They study composition with Missy Mazzoli at Bard College & Conservatory on a full-tuition Conservatory Merit Scholarship.
On their composition [to be determined], Namazi writes: “I conceptualize [to be determined] as a brief segment on a continuum of time and sound. Motifs are introduced but never fully realized, and the piece remains soft and sparse for its duration, never reaching any semblance of a climax. I was fascinated by the sound of harmonics produced on piano strings, and that features prominently in the piece as a bed of sound on which other textures fade in and out of being. As harmonic tension builds, the density of sound begins to increase, but then the tension dissipates almost prematurely. This sense of ambiguity and hidden versus audible elements inspired the piece’s title; these seven minutes don’t exist in isolation, but what came before them and what comes after are wholly open to interpretation.
“My experience with Luna Composition Lab genuinely changed my life,” continues Namazi. “It was the first time in my life I had been immersed in a community of non-male composers and artists, and that gave me so much confidence in my own work and security that I can build a career for myself that bridges all of my different musical passions. It has opened up so many doors for me, and I’m forever grateful to Luna Lab for that.”
“Everyone at Luna Composition Lab was blown away by Lili Namazi’s composition [to be determined]. This work showed maturity, restraint, and an impressive command of orchestration. Lili is fast becoming a fresh new voice in the contemporary music scene, and we at Luna Composition Lab are thrilled to be even a small part of that trajectory.”
- Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid
“Our selection panel chose Lili’s piece unanimously, as we were all quite taken with their composition. Its understated atmosphere and gradual harmonic progression were very affecting. [to be determined] is a wonderfully organic modular piece, with clear notation and an effective use of extended technique, including an engaging usage of the players’ voices. We are extremely proud to support Lili at the beginning of their career, and to celebrate their unique musical voice.”
- Peggy Monastra, Vice President of G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers
For more information, please contact your local Wise Music Promotion Team. See Contact Us.
About Luna Composition Lab
Luna Composition Lab’s mission is to close the gender gap in the field of music composition. Founded in 2016 by composers Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid, Luna Composition Lab provides mentorship and resources for young female, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming composers. Luna Composition Lab is the only initiative of its kind in the United States. It has achieved national recognition as a program that not only celebrates underrepresented voices but also shapes music’s future by providing a support system for continued success. Luna Composition Lab’s signature program—the Luna Lab Fellowship—offers six young composers one-on-one mentorship with acclaimed professional composers annually. Mentors guide fellows in the composition of a new piece of music that is premiered by a professional ensemble as part of a weeklong festival in New York City. In addition, Luna Composition Lab offers a series of group composition courses—Adventures in Sound—that support young female, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming musicians who are interested in creating their own music. Alumni of the fellowship program have gone on to receive national awards, attend the nation’s top colleges and conservatories, and have been commissioned by renowned chamber ensembles and orchestras.
About G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers
Part of Wise Music Group international network of publishing houses, G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers is the oldest continuously active North American classical music publisher. Through its international network of publishing houses, including Chester Music, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Alphonse Leduc, and Edition Peters, G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers represents works by many of the most important creators from the 20th and 21st centuries, including Samuel Barber, Daniel Catán, John Corigliano, Donnacha Dennehy, Ludovico Einaudi, Duke Ellington, Julius Eastman, Gabriela Lena Frank, Charles Ives, Gian Carlo Menotti, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Sergei Prokofiev, Kaija Saariaho, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Dmitri Shostakovich Sarah Kirkland Snider Snider, Bright Sheng, Tan Dun, Joan Tower, and John Tavener.