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Finalists have been announced since 1980.
Winners
A highly polished and inventive a cappella work uniquely embracing speech, whispers, sighs, murmurs, wordless melodies and novel vocal effects (New Amsterdam Records).
A stirring opera that recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart. Libretto by Mark Campbell (Aperto Press).
Premiered on February 26, 2010 by Opera Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, a deeply expressive opera that draws on a Chinese folk tale to blend the musical traditions of the East and the West. Libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs (Oxford University Press).
Jennifer Higdon for “Violin Concerto,” premiered on February 6, 2009, in Indianapolis, IN, a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity (Lawdon Press).
A major work that displays an ability to channel an initial burst of energy into a large-scale musical event, built with masterful control and consistently intriguing to the ear.
Co-commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Corporation and The Perth Theater and Concert Hall, and premiered October 25, 2007 in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City (G. Schirmer, Inc.).
Premiered February 17, 2005 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. (Associated Music Publishers, Inc.)
Premiered March 12, 2004 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. (Theodore Presser Company)
Premiered by the Trio Solisti and clarinet soloist David Krakauer on May 2, 2003 at the Morgan Library, New York City.
Premiered by the New York Philharmonic on September 19, 2002 at Avery Fisher Hall. (Boosey & Hawkes)
Premiered on December 12, 2001 at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, California.
Premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on November 30, 2000 at Symphony Hall, Boston, MA.
Premiered on January 28, 2000 by Dinosaur Annex in Amherst, MA. Libretto by James Maraniss.
Premiered on May 30, 1998 by the Westchester Philharmonic in Purchase, New York, and commissioned by that orchestra for Paul Lustig Dunkel.
Premiered on January 10, 1998, at Merkin Concert Hall, New York City, by The Lark Quartet.
Premiered on January 28, 1997 at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Premiered on February 1, 1996, in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and was commissioned by that orchestra.
Premiered on March 10, 1994, by the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C..
Premiered on December 2, 1993, in Louisville, Ky. Performed and commissioned by The Louisville Orchestra.
Premiered December 30, 1992, in New York by the New York Philharmonic.
Premiered on October 17, 1991, by the San Francisco Symphony.
Commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and premiered by that orchestra on October 19, 1990.
Premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on January 26, 1990.
Premiered on December 11, 1988, at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College, Massachusetts.
First complete performance by Marc-Andre Hamelin, pianist, on March 30, 1987 at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.
Premiered by the Cantata Singers and Ensemble on November 21, 1986, at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Premiered on October 2, 1985 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.
Premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra on January 17, 1985.
Premiered by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on June 8, 1983.
Commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and premiered by that orchestra on May 5, 1982 in Alice Tully Hall, New York City.
First performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on October 23, 1981, Seiji Ozawa, conductor.
A work for soprano solo and orchestra, commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony for its 100th anniversary and premiered by that orchestra on February 23, 1980.
First performed by the American Composers Orchestra on January 29, 1979 in Alice Tully Hall New York City.
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered by that orchestra October 20, 1977.
For mezzo-soprano and orchestra, premiered at the Aspen Music Festival, July 19, 1976. It was commissioned by the Festival's Conference on Contemporary Music, with assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts.
First performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on December 5, 1975. It is subtitled "Ten Etudes of Orchestra."
For medium voice and piano, commissioned by the Schubert Club of St. Paul, and premiered January 5, 1975 in Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis.
A chamber music piece commissioned by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation and first performed May 15, 1973 a Alice Tully Hall, New York City, by Speculum Musicae.
Premiered by the Juilliard String Quartet at Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City, on January 23, 1973.
Premiered by the Chicago Symphony on March 16, 1972 at Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
Premiered August 19, 1970 at the Berkshire Music Festival.
Premiered in its entirety at the Berkshire Music Festival on August 16, 1969.
First performed at the Goodman Theater, Chicago, on October 14, 1968 by the Fine Arts Quartet.
An orchestral suite first performed on May 26, 1967 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Mandel Hall, University of Chicago, having been commissioned by the University in connection with the celebration of its 75th anniversary.
First performed by the Beaux Arts Quartet in Town Hall, January 27, 1967.
First performed in the United States by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on October 22, 1965.
Premiered with the Boston Symphony at Philharmonic Hall on September 24, 1962.
For an opera in three acts, libretto by Bernard Stambler, based on the play by Arthur Miller. First performed at New York City Center, on October 26, 1961 by the New York City Opera Company.
First performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra on February 10, 1961, and commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
First performed at the Juilliard School of Music, March 25, 1960.
First performed in Washington, D.C. by the National Symphony Orchestra on November 25, 1958.
An opera in four acts, libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti. First presented January 15,1958, at the Metropolitan Opera House.
First performed at the Juilliard School of Music on April 20, 1956.
First performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, December 2, 1955.
For an opera first performed at the Broadway Theater, New York, December 27, 1954.
First performed by the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, March 17, 1954. This was one of the works commissioned under a grant of the Rockefeller Foundation for new American compositions for orchestra, or soloists and orchestra.
Produced by Columbia Opera Workshop, March 28, 1951.
Released in 1948 by Robert Flaherty Productions.
First performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston, January, 1948.
First performed by Lou Harrison and Chamber Orchestra in New York, April, 1946.
Commissioned by the Alice M Ditson Fund, first performed by the Schola Cantorum in New York, April 1945.
A ballet written for and presented by Martha Graham and group, commissioned by Mrs. E. S. Coolidge, first presented at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. October, 1944.
Performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on December 3, 1943.
Finalists
A luminous work that takes listeners into a mystical realm marked by taut expressive control and extraordinarily subtle changes of tone, texture and nuance.
An expansive jazz work that memorializes 10 key moments in the history of civil rights in America, fusing composed and improvised passages into powerful, eloquent music.
An inventive opera that uses electronic music as it explores a dying billionaire’s attempt to transcend mortality through technology, raising significant questions about human existence. Libretto by Robert Pinsky (Boosey & Hawkes).
An impressive musical portrait of nine historic churches, written for a string trio but sometimes giving the illusion of being played by a much larger group, changing mood and mode on a dime (Schott Music).
Premiered on November 19, 2010 at Miller Theatre, Columbia University, a consistently original concerto that sustains an extraordinary level of sensuous invention as it evolves from one moment to the next.
Recording released in June, 2010 by Bridge Records, an ambitious cantata that translates into music an influential work of Latin American literature, giving voice to two cultures that intersect within the term “America.”
Premiered on December 8, 2009, in Cleveland, Ohio, a remarkable work that displays impeccable technical facility and palpable emotion.
Premiered on November 13, 2009, in Gainesville, FL, an innovative composition that, with voices and old-time instruments, turns the old folk tune “John Henry” into an epic distillation of Appalachia.
A deft set of studies that display rhythmic inventiveness and irresistible energy, charm and wit.
A sonic portrait of a cemetery in northern Italy painted with the touch of a watercolorist and marked by an episodic structure and vivid playfulness that offer a graceful, sensual and contemplative experience.
Premiered June 8, 2006 by the Los Angeles Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, libretto by Julie Taymor and J.D. McClatchy.
Premiered June 1, 2006 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (G. Schirmer, Inc.)
Premiered May 20, 2005 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Premiered October 13, 2005 by the Cleveland Orchestra.
Premiered October 23, 2004 by the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA.
Premiered in the U.S. June 7, 2004 by Musicians from The Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the MusicNOW contemporary music series in Chicago, Ill.
Premiered on October 18, 2003 at The Krannert Center, Champaign-Urbana, Ill. (Boosey & Hawkes)
Premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra on November 26, 2003 in Minneapolis, Minn. (G. Schirmer, Inc.)
Premiered on May 31, 2002, at the Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston, S.C.
Commissioned by Music of Remembrance and premiered on April 7, 2002 at MOR's Holocaust Remembrance concert, Not In Vain!, at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Wash.
Premiered on May 20, 2001 at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.
Premiered on January 15, 2001 at Alfred Newman Recital Hall, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Premiered on April 19, 1999 at Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
Premiered on February 17, 2000 at the Society for Ethical Culture, New York City
Premiered on March 7, 1998 by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
Premiered on November 19, 1998 by the Curtis Symphony at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.
Premiered on September 25, 1997, at Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, by The Cleveland Orchestra.
Premiered on March 2, 1996, by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, in Jacksonville, Fla.
Premiered on April 12, 1996, by the Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis.
Premiered on May 28, 1995, at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.
Premiered on October 15, 1995, in Birmingham, Ala., by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
a cantata for mixed chorus with soprano solo and small orchestra, premiered on November 4, 1994, at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Premiered on November 11, 1993, at Princeton University and commissioned by American Public Radio.
Premiered on March 19, 1993, in Philadelphia and commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
Premiered on October 16, 1992, in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Orchestra and commissioned by that orchestra.
Premiered on April 24, 1992, in Salt Lake City by the Utah Symphony.
Premiered on November 21, 1992, by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Premiered in New York City on April 24, 1990 by the Peabody Trio.
Premiered on November 4, 1990, in Newton, Mass., by the Newton Symphony Orchestra; text by Will Graham.
Premiered on July 31, 1989 at Tanglewood Music Center.
Premiered on April 17, 1988, at the 92nd Street Y, New York City
Premiered on February 20, 1988, by the Pro Arte Quartet and the Madison Symphony Orchestra at the Oscar Mayer Theatre in Madison, Wis.
Premiered on May 17, 1986, at the 92nd Street Y in New York City by the Y Chamber Orchestra.
Premiered on March 13, 1986 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Premiered at the University of Michigan on April 11, 1984.
Premiered on April 21, 1983 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Premiered on January 5, 1983 by the San Francisco Symphony, at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.
