Competition Winners
First Prize | Gabriel Abedi
Gabriel’s piano piece Agbadza was inspired by Ghana's Agbadza, a traditional music and dance of the Ewe people. Gabriel is a Ghanaian born in Italy. His mother is an Ewe from the town of Anloga, in the Volta Region of Ghana. Growing up he often heard his mom sing traditional Ewe melodies.
Second Prize (tie) | Bracha Bdil
The opening of Bracha’s piece Shofar resembles ancient monody and multi-voice recitatives. Its repetitive style imitates the blowing of the Shofar, or biblical horn. It quotes from the song "Ponar" which has become one of the symbols of the Holocaust of the Jewish nation.
Second Prize (tie) | Inci Yakar Birol
Inci is originally from Turkey. Her piano piece, A Book with a Voice, was composed in memory of the Turkish composer A. Adnan Saygun, who skillfully used folk music elements in his compositions, and carries the traces of Turkish folk music melodies and rhythms.
Honorable Mention | Israel Ruiz Ayala
Israel lives in Xalapa, Veracruz, México. His piece, Ts'unu'un for flute and piano, or "the hummingbird" in Mayan language, was inspired by the scales and rhythms of the Mayan culture from southern Mexico and Central America.
Honorable Mention | Wolfgang Ordoñez Peña
Wolfgang is a composer living in Colombia. His composition El Taguarote is based on a traditional Venezuelan-Colombian Joropo of the same name. The word Taguarote is also used in the traditional jargon of the Colombian plains to refer to a man of great stature, since the piece was dedicated to a very tall Colombian bass trombonist.
The purpose of the Carlos Guastavino International Composition Competition is to encourage the creation of musical works inspired by folk or national traditions, while upholding the high standards of musical composition sustained by Guastavino.
The 2021 Competition included works for piano solo and duo ensembles with piano.
Awards:
First prize: USD $1,000
Second prize: USD $250
Third prize: USD $150