2012 Composition Contest Winners

1st Place
Kyle Vanderburg - University of Oklahoma
Foi dans l'aléatoire (flute and piano)

Kyle Vanderburg (b. 1986) is a composer of eclectically polystylistic music fueled by rhythmic drive and melodic infatuation. Kyle holds affiliations with ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, the Society of Composers Incorporated, the National Association of Composers/USA, and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States. Additionally, he sits on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Composers Association, a 501c3 nonprofit.

Kyle has studied composition with Marvin Lamb, Konstantinos Karathanasis, and Carlyle Sharpe, improvised composition with Marc Jensen, and has participated in composition masterclasses with David Maslanka, Chris Brubeck, Eric V. Hachikian, and Joël-François Durand. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) in Music Composition and Theory from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri and a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Oklahoma, where he is currently a DMA candidate in composition and graduate assistant in music IT. For more information, please visit the composer's website: www.kylevanderburg.com

2nd Place
Joshua Fishbein - UCLA
Trio Without Words (violin, cello, and piano)

An accomplished singer and pianist, Joshua Fishbein (b. 1984) composes both vocal and instrumental music. Currently, Fishbein is a PhD student in Music Composition at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music. He has won numerous composition prizes from music organizations such as BMI, the American Choral Directors Association, the Guild of Temple Musicians, the National Lutheran Choir, The Esoterics, WomenSing, and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. Fishbein completed his Master’s degree in Music Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), where he won first prize in the SFCM Artsong Competition, and where he served as Assistant Conductor of the Conservatory Chorus.  While earning undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Music at Carnegie Mellon University, Fishbein won the Harry G. Archer Prize in orchestral composition.  A native of Baltimore, Fishbein studied piano performance and music theory at The Peabody Preparatory.  For more information, please visit the composer’s website at www.fishbeinmusic.com .