Sudbury Youth Orchestra (SYO) will be performing a brand-new work by a young composer at their April 24 concert.
In September, SYO invited young women composers aged between 14 and 24 living in Ontario to compete for a cash prize of $1,000 and a commission for an original composition to be premiered by the SYO in the spring of 2022.
Competitors were judged on sample scores, audio recordings of previous compositions and statements of the musical ideas they hoped to explore in the new work.
Submissions were adjudicated by a panel of judges, including the SYO music director Jamie
Arrowsmith, Cambrian College music professor Charlene Biggs and special guest judge, Elizabeth Raum, one of Canada’s most eminent composers.
The winner of the contest is Leslie Ashworth of Burlington, Ont.
Ashworth is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Viola at the Julliard School in New York, having completed her undergraduate studies at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and a Master of Music in violin from Rice University in Texas.
Ashworth has performed across Canada and internationally and in 2021 was named one of CBC’s Hot 30 Under 30 Canadian Classical Musicians. While engaged in a busy performance career, Ashworth also finds time to pursue her passion for composition.
“When I’m not practising, I love to create original melodies,” Ashworth said. “Composing brings me great happiness and I enjoy being able to produce pieces that come straight from my heart and soul.”
The judges were impressed by Ashworth’s lyrical approach to melodic writing and the way in which she explored the natural ability of string instruments to create lush, sustained sonorities.
Ashworth is working closely with the SYO, having met with them over Zoom to work on her music with them, and the SYO musicians are looking forward to premiering the piece at the spring concert.
“The music is beautiful and it’s neat to get to hear the composer talk about her ideas with us and get us to think about the music in a different way,” said violinist Heather Stewart.
Ashworth will travel to Sudbury to workshop the performance with Arrowsmith and the orchestra and will offer master classes in violin and viola to the young musicians of the SYO. On April 24th, an in-person concert will be held for family members and will be live-streamed so that it can be enjoyed by a larger audience of friends and supporters. The link will be available on the SYO website www.sudburyyouthorchestra.ca.
Also featured in the spring concert will be an original composition by the runner up and winner of a $500 cash prize, Allyson Whitmell, a pianist-singer-composer who loves to tell stories through music and sound. Whitmell is a third year Bachelor of Music student at the University of Toronto majoring in piano performance, who is equally passionate about her minor in composition.
The SYO is grateful for the support of the Canadian Federation of University Women, Sudbury, whose generous donation made this competition possible.
