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History - Performers - Videos - Composition Contest

2025 Composition Contest Winners
Works will be performed at the 2025 Belvedere Festival June 25-28
(Contest Guidelines and information on Past Winners)

1st Prize
Matthew Tirona
New England Conservatory, Tufts University
is it still autumn?, Piano Trio

Matthew Tirona (ASCAP) is a Boston-based composer with a prolific and acclaimed output. His music has been featured across the United States, in venues such as New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall (Boston, MA), Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre (Boston, MA), Tufts Distler Performance Hall (Medford, MA), 102 Franklin Art Loft (New York, NY), Slippery Rock University (Pittsburgh, PA), University of Iowa’s Voxman Music Center (Iowa City, IA), and the First Baptist Church of Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN). Collaborators include the New England Conservatory Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble, the Midwest Graduate Music Consortium, Vox Novus, the b# chamber trio, and Trio Tyche. Matthew is enrolled in the Tufts University/New England Conservatory (NEC) Dual-Degree Program, pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition/Music Technology under Michael Gandolfi and John Mallia at NEC and a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics at Tufts. matthewtirona.com



2nd Prize
Ethan Resnik
Rice University
Three Urban Scenes
(flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

Ethan Resnik (b. 2002) is a composer and pianist currently pursuing his Master of Music Degree at Rice University. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from the Eastman School of Music. Ethan is the recipient of the Belle Gitelman Award, the Louis Lane Prize, and he received 1st place in the Northwest Horn Symposium Composition Contest and in the Villa Musica Call for Scores. He was awarded 3rd place in the American Prize in Composition and 2nd place in the 16th Piano Composition Competition Fidelio, where he later served as a jury member for the final round. Recent festival appearances include the RED NOTE New Music Festival, Penn-State New Music Festival, and the Maine Chamber Music Seminar. As a pianist, he attended and performed at the Bowdoin Music Festival, Brevard, and the Remix Ensemble Academy in Portugal. He was a soloist with the North Shore Symphony Orchestra, a finalist in the Yonkers Philharmonic Concerto Competition, and he received 1st place in the American Fine Arts Festival Concerto Competition. Ethan also enjoys performing chamber music, accompanying, and premiering new works. Besides music, Ethan obtained a French Minor from the University of Rochester. He is also an avid roller coaster enthusiast, enjoys hiking, going to beaches, and world geography. Currently, he is trying to memorize the location and capital city of every country and territory in the world.
ethanresnikcomposer.com

3rd Prize
Brittney Benton
Yale University
Piano Trio No. 1

Driven by storytelling and imagery, Brittney Benton's music takes you on a journey through a lush melodic and harmonic soundscape, filled with personality at every turn. Brittney holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition with a Minor in Music Technology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is attending the Yale School of Music for her Masters in Music Composition. She is very interested in working outside of the concert hall, especially in the realm of video game music. Brittney’s music has been performed by the Bellevue Chamber Chorus, ZOFO, the Beo String Quartet, the Lowell Chamber Orchestra, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, SOLI Chamber Ensemble and more.
brittneybentonmusic.wixsite.com/composer 

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