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Interlochen students and alumni sweep Chicago College of Performing Arts Young Composer Competition
Current Arts Academy students Jonah Cohen and Jack Kaiser received first and third places, respectively; Interlochen Online alumnus Siddharth Pant placed second.
Chicago College of Performing Arts Young Composer Competition winners Jack Kaiser (left, third place), Jonah Cohen (center, first place), and Siddharth Pant (right, second place).
Two current Interlochen Arts Academy students and an Interlochen Online alumnus were recently selected as the winners of the Chicago College of Performing Arts Young Composer Competition.
Arts Academy senior Jonah Cohen (IAC 19, IAA 20-present) of Farmington Hills, Michigan, received the competition’s top prize for his original composition, “Sounds of a Sightless World” for alto saxophone and piano. As the winner of the competition, Cohen will have his prize-winning work performed by current Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) students during Student Composition Recital IV on Monday, April 25. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available for viewing via livestream. Cohen will also receive a $200 cash prize, a recording of his piece, and a 45-minute lesson with a member of CCPA’s composition faculty.
A student of Cynthia Van Maanen, Cohen has received academic and artistic recognition from the National YoungArts Foundation, the National Merit Scholarship Competition, and the National Young Composers Challenge, among many others. Cohen’s first commissioned piece, “Limitation and Locomotion,” will be premiered by the Akropolis Reed Quintet this spring. Cohen is also the founder and program director of the NowBeat Project, which connects composers ages 16 and under with Interlochen Arts Academy students for performance and mentorship opportunities.
Interlochen Online alumnus Siddharth Pant (IO 20) of San Jose, California earned second place for his composition “Dodecahedron” for string quartet. Arts Academy senior Jack Kaiser (IAC 13-18, IAA 19-present), who also studies with Van Maanen, placed third. The Chicago, Illinois native entered a string quartet composition, “Migraine,” in the competition. Both composers will receive cash prizes and a 45-minute lesson with a member of CCPA’s composition faculty. All three winners are invited to visit CCPA’s campus on April 25 to sit in on music classes and attend the composition recital.
Hosted by the Composition program at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, the Young Composer Competition is open to all young composers ages 14-18. The competition is judged by CCPA’s composition faculty.
