EarRelevant Staff | 3 FEB 2022
On Tuesday, The Cross-Country Chamber Consortium announced that it awarded Benjamin Horne its first ever Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Emerging Composer Commission.
The Consortium is a collaborative effort of five chamber music ensembles from around the United States: Atlanta Chamber Players (Atlanta), Decoda (New York), Fifth House Ensemble (Chicago), Musiqa (Houston), and SOLI Chamber Ensemble (San Antonio). The Consortium’s goal is to increase the diversity of creative voices in the chamber music repertoire of the 21st century.
Benjamin Horne (b.1995) is a composer and arranger, performer on low brass instruments, and conductor residing in Bloomington, Indiana, where he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Music Performance at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.
Horne earned his Bachelorʼs at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University (Columbus, Georgia) with degrees in Music Education, Music Performance, and a Certificate in Music Composition.
Horne has composed various styles of music for a wide range of instrumentation, from large ensembles to solo and chamber works. He is an accomplished euphonium player and trombonist and currently performs with the Sequence Euphonium Quartet and the Albireo New Music Collective. He also spent time as a band director in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr. Horne will create a new work for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano to be performed by each of the five Consortium members during their 2022/2023 seasons. He will receive a $5000 cash award and the combined artistic and administrative support of five chamber music ensembles committed to providing an outlet for new voices in modern music.
The five ensembles of the Consortium have all demonstrated a solid commitment to the cultivation and performance of works by up-and-coming creators in the chamber music field.
The 2021 Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Emerging Composer Commission competition was judged by a panel of representatives from the artistic leadership of these ensembles, joined by guest judge Anthony R. Green. This first round of the competition received applicants from around the country.
The Cross-Country Chamber Consortium also honors three additional composers as finalists for the outstanding quality of their respective submissions: J.E. Hernández, Julio Elvin Quiñones, and Sofía Rocha.
The next round of the Black, Latinx, and Indigenous Emerging Composer Commission will accept applications in the fall of 2022 at musiqa.org/cross-country-chamber-consortium
Support for this new commission comes from each member organization and their generous donors, with additional support from Scott and Judy Nyquist. ■
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