For Immediate Release:  March 5, 2008

The PVS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 PVS Young Composers Competition. The jury of three composers and conductors, Paul Phillips, Lisa Jablow, and Jerry Noble, unanimously chose Takuma Itoh as the first prize winner for his piece Concerto for Orchestra, which the PVSO will perform at the final concert of the season on May 17. Itoh is currently a master's student at the University of Michigan, where he studies composition with William Bolcom. His music has been performed by the New York Youth Symphony, Shanghai Quartet, Haddonfield Symphony, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and others. He enjoys playing jazz piano.

Concerto for Orchestra by Takuma Itoh, the 1st Prize Winner of the PVS Young Composer Competition, is a wonderful new piece that was the unanimous choice of the judging panel, which chose it enthusiastically over the other scores that were submitted. This 12-minute piece is a dynamic, colorful work that builds from a slow, quiet opening into an exciting, energetic composition. It contains a lovely lyrical section in the middle that features an extended solo for English horn. Although just 24 years old, Takuma Itoh already has extremely impressive accomplishments and has won numerous composition prizes prior to this one. He studies at the University of Michigan with William Bolcom (who appeared with the PVS in our 2006-2007 season) and Bright Sheng and has a brilliant future ahead of him. The performance of Itoh's Concerto for Orchestra on the May 17th season's finale promises to be one of the highlights of the 2007-08 season, exemplifying the Youthful Visions that we have been presenting all year long.

Second Prize winning composition was Pomo Canyon Air by Paul Dooley, a Masters of Music student at the University of Michigan.  Elizabeth Lim, who is a senior at Harvard University, won Third Prize with her piece, Night Dance Ritual. The PVS jury is very pleased to recognize the accomplishments of these two fine young composers.

Mr. Phillips writes, "As Music Director of the Pioneer Valley Symphony, I am very pleased at the high quality of scores submitted to the orchestra's Young Composer Competition. This is the first such competition ever held by the PVS. I believe that our audience enjoys hearing excellent new works like the ones entered in this competition. It keeps us in contact with the best young compositional talent in the US and helps to establish the PVS as one of the orchestras that cares about and promotes the future of orchestral music. And so I hope that similar Composer Competitions becomes regular features of future PVS seasons."

The Pioneer Valley Symphony and Chorus are strongly committed both to encouraging young artists on the rise and performing the music of our time. We decided to postpone the 2008 Concerto for Young Violinists to a future season. We look forward to holding future competitions for young artists and composers while continuing to perform great music of the past and present.

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