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UNL'S TYLER WHITE WINS HONORABLE MENTION
IN ASCAP FOUNDATION'S RUDOLF NISSIM PRIZE COMPETITION  White received honorable mention for Mystic Trumpeter (Symphony No. 2), a 22-minute piece for baritone and large orchestra with text comprised of fragments of several poems by Walt Whitman. "I am naturally very pleased by this recognitin," White said. "Composers always like to see their music gain notice and life beyond the first performance or two-and unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. The Nissim Prize is one of the significant awards in American composition, and the jury's singling out of my work may speak well, I hope, for the piece's prospects to attract future performances." Associate Professor William Shomos and the UNL Symphony Orchestra premiered Mystic Trumpeter (Symphony No. 2) under White's direction last April 2 as part of "Leaves of Grass: The 150th Anniversary Conference," which brought prominent poets and Whitman scholars from around the world to the UNL campus. The composition and premiere of Mystic Trumpeter were supported by a Maude Hammond Fling Faculty Development Grant from UNL and by a Composer Assistance Grant from the American Music Center. "We in the School of Music are delighted to learn the news of Dr. White's accolades from ASCAP," said School of Music Director John Richmond. "The Rudolf Nissim Prize is one of the most coveted awards in classical composition. Dr. White's achievement of Honorable Mention in this prestigious competition (3rd place out of some 250 entries) is an enormous affirmation of his new composition, Mystic Trumpeter (Symphony No. 2). This recognition positions Dr. White among a very small cadre of the nation's emerging classical composers. We could not be more delighted for him." The Nissim Prize is funded by The ASCAP Foundation through a bequest of the late Dr. Rudolf Nissim, former head of ASCAP's International Department. The Nissim competition is open to all ASCAP members who compose concert works requiring a conductor that have not been professionally premiered. White has been Director of Orchestral Activities at UNL since 1994, leading the orchestra program in a period of extraordinary growth and achievement. Prior to coming to Nebraska, White led orchestras at Cornell University and Trinity University (Texas). He appears regularly as guest conductor and clinician with student orchestras nationwide. In 2004, he was invited to give masterclasses to graduate conductors at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, White received his master's and doctoral degrees in composition from Cornell University. He has received national and international recognition for his compositions. His cello concerto Threnos (William Schuman in memoriam) became the first work by a Nebraskan to win the Omaha Symphony's International New Music Competition. In 2001, White was named Composer of the Year by the Nebraska Music Teachers Association. In 2003, his Elegy "for the orphans of terror" was recorded by the Sofia Philharmonic in the inaugural volume of ERMMEdia's "Masterworks of the New Era" CD series. White's latest orchestral work, A Brand-New Summer, has been commissioned by the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and is slated for premiere by them on March 11 at 7:30pm in Kimball Recital. 01/23/2006 |
