NMGCS IV International Composition Competition Jury
Members
- Melinda Wagner (website) Jury Chair
- Jalal Abbasov (website) Juror
- Sungji Hong (website) Juror
Melinda Wagner, Jury Chair
Celebrated as an “…eloquent, poetic voice in contemporary music…” [American Record Guide], Melinda Wagner’s esteemed catalog of works embodies music of exceptional beauty, power, and intelligence. Wagner received widespread attention when her colorful Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion earned her the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Since then, major works have included Concerto for Trombone, for Joseph Alessi and the New York Philharmonic, a piano concerto, Extremity of Sky, commissioned by the Chicago Symphony for Emanuel Ax, and Little Moonhead, composed for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as part of its popular “New Brandenburgs” project.
Noted for its “…prismatic colors and…lithe sense of mystery…” [Washington Post], Extremity of Sky has been performed by Emanuel Ax with the National Symphony (on tour), the Toronto and Kansas City Symphonies, and the Staatskapelle Berlin.
Championed early on by Daniel Barenboim, Wagner has received three commissions from the Chicago Symphony; the most recent of these, Proceed, Moon, was premiered under the baton of Susanna Mälkki in 2017. Other recent performances have come from the Philadelphia Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the United States Marine Band, BMOP, the American Brass Quintet, the Empyrean Ensemble, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
Among honors Wagner has received is a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and ASCAP. Wagner was given an honorary doctorate from Hamilton College, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. Melinda Wagner was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2017.
A passionate and inspiring teacher, Melinda Wagner has given master classes at many fine institutions across the United States, including Harvard, Yale, Eastman, Juilliard, and UC Davis. She has held faculty positions at Brandeis University and Smith College, and has served as a mentor at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Atlantic Music Festival, and Yellow Barn. She currently serves as chair of the Composition Department at Juilliard, and is a distinguished composer-in-residence at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.
Jalal Abbasov, Juror
Jalal Abbasov, born on May 8, 1957, in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a celebrated composer and educator. He studied at Bulbul Special Music School and later at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory under Kara Karayev, graduating with honors. He completed a postgraduate course under Professor Faraj Karayev.
Abbasov has been a member of the USSR Union of Composers since 1981. He has held various teaching positions and currently teaches composition and orchestration at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory.
His major works include four symphonies, such as “Voice of Peace” (1984) and “If I could see you again…” (1998), and orchestral pieces like “Where are you, Ulysses?” (1997/2008). He composed chamber music, including “Passacaglia and Allegro” (1979) and “In memoriam…” (2019), and five cantatas like “Songs of Life” (1983) and “Spring Rites” (1986). Abbasov also wrote the children’s opera “Merry Spring” (1997) and two string quartets.
Abbasov has received numerous awards, including a UN Prize (1998), the Azerbaijan Youth Union Prize (1990), and the Humay National Prize (2022). He was honored with a certificate from Baku’s Department of Culture (2000) and was named an Honored Artist of Azerbaijan (2007). He has served as Secretary of the Azerbaijan Composers Union and is a member of the State Awards Commission.
Active in collecting and researching Azerbaijani folk music, Abbasov has participated in ethnographic expeditions and published many articles. His music has been performed internationally, including in the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Indonesia, and South Korea, by renowned ensembles and orchestras.
Sungji Hong, Juror
Sungji Hong’s music has been described as “a work of iridescent freshness” (BBC Music Magazine), “the sound is utterly luminous” (Fanfare Magazine), and “the harmonies and fluid dynamics were modern” (The New York Times). In a Citation awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, “At times complex and at times straightforward, her passionate music uses precise timbres to unfold dramatic, virtuoso gestures, iridescent colors, and vivid, atmospheric auras.”
Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation, the National Flute Association, the MATA Festival, the Tongyeoung International Music Festival, Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, Lorelei Ensemble, iSing Silicon Valley, Ensemble TIMF, The Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition at the University of Chicago, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Her Missa Lumen de Lumine on the ECM New Series (ECM 1929), performed by the vocal ensemble Trio Mediaeval, received critical acclaim and reached the top ten on the Billboard Classical Chart and iTunes classics. Sungji Hong (ARAM) holds degrees from Hanyang University, the Royal Academy of Music, and the University of York in the United Kingdom. Hong is an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at the University of North Texas.