2008 Earplay Donald Aird

Application

2008 WINNER

            San Francisco: Earplay announces the winning composition of the 2008 EARPLAY DONALD AIRD MEMORIAL COMPOSERS COMPETITION. Amenable (2006) by Nicolas Tzortzis (Greece) is the winning composition and carries a $1,000.00 cash prize with a performance during Earplay’s 24th season on May 20, 2009. The clarinet, violin, cello, and piano composition was selected from 132 entries from 14 countries by a panel of composers and performers specializing in contemporary chamber music. The panelists also selected, Holes and Bones (2002) by Clara Maïda (France) to receive an Honorable Mention. Consecutio Temporum (2002) by Tolga Yayalar (Turkey) is a Finalist composition. Two Semi-Finalist compositions were chosen: …`a son demier soupir (2006) by Martin Iddon (United Kingdom) and String Trio in Two Movements (2004) by Suzanne Sorkin (U.S.). Earplay’s conductor, Mary Chun comments about the winning composition, Dark and moody in atmosphere, Tzortzis’ reveals a fine ear for timbre and movement in Amenable pitting a highly articulated, forceful piano part against the mysterious, lyric trio of clarinet, violin and cello.

 
           

Born in Athens, Greece, in 1978, Nicolas Tzortzis studied guitar with Evangelos Assimakopoulos and harmony, counterpoint and fugue with Yiannis Ioannidis, as well as composition under Theodore Antoniou.

He moved to Paris in 2002 where he pursued his studies in composition with Michel Merlet at the École Normale de Musique. He is currently finishing his Master’s degree in computer-aided composition at the university of Paris-8 under the direction of Horacio Vaggione and José Manuel Lopez-Lopez, and is taking composition classes with Philippe Leroux at the CRD of Blanc-Mesnil. Furthermore, since September 2007 he has been studying musical theatre composition with Georges Aperghis at the Hochschule der Kunste, in Bern, Switzerland.

He has taken part in composition master classes with François Paris, Brian Ferneyhough and Karlheinz Stockhausen, as well as computer music seminars at the IRCAM.

His music has been performed in France, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Peru, South Korea, and has been selected and awarded in competitions worldwide (Greece, Italy, USA, South Korea, France, Austria).

Past Earplay Donald Aird Memorial Competition winners:

Massimo Lauricella (2001)
Shintaro Imai (2001)
Christophe Bertrand (2002)
João Pedro Oliveira (2003)
Vincent Chee-Yung Ho (2004)
Fredrik Fahlman (2005)
Mitru Escalona-Mijares (2006)
Hèctor Parra (2007)
           
Earplay concerts feature the Earplayers, a group of seven outstanding Bay Area artists who, as a group, have developed a lyrical and ferocious style. Led by Conductor Mary Chun, theEarplayers are: Tod Brody, flute and piccolo; Peter Josheff, clarinet and bass clarinet; Terrie Baune, violin; Ellen Ruth Rose, viola; Thalia Moore, cello, and Karen Rosenak, piano.
           
Founded in 1985 by a consortium of composers and musicians, Earplay is dedicated to the performance of new chamber music offering audiences a unique opportunity to hear eloquent, vivid performances of some of today's finest chamber music.