Winners of the 1st Annual Wizarding School Composers Competition
BOSTON, August 26, 2022 — Composer and Wizarding School founder Dr. Joseph Sowa today announced the winners of the The Wizarding School for Composers’s 1st Annual Composers Competition, which awards promising composers scholarships and lessons to further their artistic and career growth.
“I’m delighted to recognize the accomplishments of this talented group of composers,” said Sowa. “Composers spend much of their time cloistered away from friends and peers. Positive feedback for these devoted efforts is an important affirmation for the work they do.”
“Just as important as positive feedback is the opportunity for further studies. Composers always have more to learn, and my goal as a teacher is to empower students to write music that gives audiences goosebumps in a way that feels authentic and energizing to them as creators,” he added.
The winners of the 1st Annual Wizarding School Composers Competition are as follows:
1st Prize: Jacob Britton
2nd Prize: James Waide
3rd Prize: Jared Knight
4th Prize: Matthew Peter Tharappel
5th Prize: Ethan Resnik
Honorable Mention: Drake Wheeler, Jiaqi Wang, Mahyar Hemati, Nathan Grocholski
“The judging process was difficult, due to the highly competitive nature of the field. There were twice as many deserving composers as there were prizes. Regardless of their results, I want to congratulate every entrant for their work and thank them for sharing it with me,” said Sowa.
Founded in 2021 by Dr. Joseph Sowa, the Wizarding School for Composers is a 15-week online program, roughly equivalent to a 4-credit hour graduate course in composition.
The Wizarding School aims to fill the gaps left by university composition programs, by connecting the essential technical skills composers learn at music school with practical creative workflows, timely career advice, and the latest music cognition research.
As a result, composers become more confident in their artistic decision-making, more efficient at creating their desired musical effects, and more successful in developing their careers.
