AMP ‘24-’25 Spring Cycle call for scores Winners

AMP is thrilled to announce the winners of its ‘24-’25 spring cycle Call For Scores. The competition was open to Black American composers of all ages. Winners will have their solo piano compositions performed during AMP’s ‘2025 season in New York City. Details TBA.

Lilyanne Dorilas - Black Amber

Jeremiah Evans - Shades & Hues, Books I and II

Lawren Brianna Ware - Borealis

Lilyanne Dorilas

ABOUT Black Amber (2024)

My second solo piano composition Black Amber was my chance to implement the language of a third set of non-classical genres I enjoy: instrumental rock. In addition to classical music and jazz, the unpredictable meter changes, industrial rhythms, and striking dissonance of instrumental rock have captivated me since the end of high school. The band Animals As Leaders (part of the "djent" instrumental rock subgenre) were the musical inspiration that I thought would bring out the striking and captivating gemstone's appearance into the sonic realm. A black amber's nebulous warm shades and intense darkness both clash with each other in such a way that it is difficult to tell where one hue ends and another begins. The same could be said about how jazz, Post-Romantic, and instrumental rock influences complement and contrast each other in this piece, creating an electrifying experience for both the musician and the listener.

BIOGRAPHY

Lilyanne Dorilas (b. 2002) is a Boston-based violinist and composer. She earned Bachelor’s degrees in Cognitive Science and Music from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in 2024, studying violin with Dr. Stephen Sims and composition with Dr. Kristian Schembri (CIM). In February 2024, she was the first CWRU Concerto Competition winner in the school’s history to compose, perform, and premiere a movement of her Violin Concerto No. 1 with CWRU’s Symphony Orchestra. She was the soloist on her big band tune “Old World” (2023), and the Cleveland Chamber collective premiered her neoclassical string quintet “4 ½ Stages of Grief” (2022) in 2023.

Dorilas’ versatile style is infused with jazz, blues, instrumental rock, and Post-Romantic classical harmonies. She is a passionate advocate for expanding classical music repertoire and pedagogy, performing works by composers of color influenced by multiple genres. Aside from music, she enjoys speaking Mandarin and writing her historical fiction novel. Instagram: @du_li-an.composes

JEREMIAH EVANS

ABOUT Shades & Hues, Books I and II (2021-2024)

Shades & Hues is a collection of 14 short piano pieces inspired by an eclectic array of colors and sound-color synesthesia. The performer is encouraged to preview the precise representation of each color by searching for the color name along with its adjoining hexadecimal number on the internet.

BIOGRAPHY

The music of Jeremiah Evans (b. 1978) has been included in RISING (Warner Classics) nominated for "Best Classical Solo Vocal Album" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and included in the album What Dreams We Have (Lexicon Classics) by GRAMMY AWARD WINNING baritone, Kenneth Overton. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The 16th London New Wind Festival, South Africa's National Arts Festival, Royal Concertgebouw, Princeton University Concerts, The Celebrity Series of Boston, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, San Francisco Performances (Herbst Theatre), The Knoxville Opera/NATS, and The Dallas Opera's Titus Art Song Series.

He has been recognized as a finalist-composer at The New York City Contemporary Music Symposium and winner of the Locrian Chamber Players' annual call for scores in New York City. His songs have been included in concert programming described by The Boston Globe as "powerful". His songs have been described by The Washington Classical Review as having "...surprising twists, as well as a pleasing melodic style", while piano music has been described as being inspired by "urban sounds", having "jazzy inflections", and "an Impressionist milkiness" by The New York Times. He has been included among "consummate melodists" by OperaWire. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas. https://www.jevansmusicpress.com/

Lawren Brianna ware

ABOUT Borealis (2017)

Borealis is intended to sonically represent the Aurora Borealis and the feelings of an individual while viewing it.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Lawren Brianna Ware (b. 1994), a Gadsden, Alabama native, is a graduate of The University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned her DMA in Music Composition with a minor in musicology. Compositionally, Dr. Ware’s goal is to “write music that makes one feel.” Although she is an “up and coming” composer, she has begun to secure her place in the world of contemporary classical composition. Dr. Ware’s compositions have  been featured on several professionally recorded albums including Cobus du Toit’s “From the Rooftop”(2024), Marcus Eley’s Grammy nominee contender (2023) “Perseverance,” Jessica Johnson’s “Sojourn”(2023), the Amernet Quartet’s “Alabama String Quartets (Birmingham Arts Music Alliance)”(2020) and Dr. Cole Bartels’ “On the Brink”(2022). Her most recent projects include working as a Lullaby Teaching Artist for the Overture Center’s Lullaby Project, being the inaugural composer and co-founder of the Black Composer Revival Consortium, composing for the Minnesota Consortium for Black American Composers (2020), and composing and releasing an electronic music album in conjunction with comic book writer Jaromir François on the comic My Brother Teddy (2021). Website: https://www.lbwaremusic.com/ Instagram: @lbwarecomposer SoundCloud: Lawren Brianna Ware

The guidelines for the ‘24-’25 spring cycle Call for Scores are provided below for reference until updated for the new cycle, which opens on Monday, February 3rd, 2025.

Eligibility:

Open to all Black American composers (there is no age limit). Applicants must be based in the US and eligible to receive income in the US.

Deadline for submission: 

All submissions must be made by July 25th, 2024, at 10pm EST. Winners will be contacted on or around August 15th, 2024.

There is no application fee to apply.

(Scroll down for application.)

Guidelines: 

I. All scores must be written for solo piano.  

II. Compositions should be between 4-10 minutes.

III. All pieces, regardless if they have been performed or not, are welcome for submission.

IV. You may submit up to three compositions.  

V. Your submission must include PDF(s) of the score(s). Your submission should also include streaming audio of your composition(s) if available. Midi/digital recordings are acceptable. 

VI. Please note: there is no cash prize for this competition. The prize is a live performance and recording of your composition by AMP.

Please contact us for any questions about the application process.