FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
IU Jacobs School of Music – Bloomington, IN
IU Jacobs School of Music Composition students Erin C. Blake and Daniel Jingyang Cui have been named First and Second-Prize winners, respectively, of the 2024 NOTUS Student Composition Contest.
First Prize winner Erin C. Blake is a composer who is currently a senior undergraduate student at Indiana University pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition who has studied with Professor Don Freund, Han Lash and Aaron Travers.
Blake’s work is Gacela de la muerte oscura (Ghazal of the Dark Death), which borrows its name from Federico Garcia Lorca’s poem of the same name. The piece explores the intersections of death with desire, love, and isolation. Though cyclical, each stanza takes a different compositional approach to toe the lines between intimate and lonely, desperate and dejected, impassioned and numb.
Second prize winner Daniel Jingyang Cui is a Chinese-born composer who draws inspirations mostly from his Chinese background which includes culture, history, and current social issues. He is pursuing a Master of Music in Composition and has studied with David Dzubay and Aaron Travers.
Cui’s Second Prize work is Jasmine Flower, an adaptation of a famous Chinese folk tune that originated in the area around his hometown of Nanjing. The most well-known appearance of the tune in previous works is in Verdi’s opera Turandot. Cui says “the work is not only a praise to the beauty of the jasmine flower, but also my personal expression of love and gratitude to the city of Nanjing where I was born and raised.”
NOTUS will give the world premiere of the works by Erin C. Blake and Daniel Jingling Cui on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 8 pm in Auer Concert Hall as part of their concertCharting the World. This concert will also feature a work by Associate Professor of Composition Han Lash and a new work by DiOrio featuring saxophone soloist and faculty member Otis Murphy.
The judges also awarded Honorable Mentions this year to composers Jamie Guzman (Connections), Isaac Smith (Prayer for Rain), Ye-chong Jeon (An Der Ecke), and Woodrow Murray (Sanctus).
The judges for this year’s competition were Heidi Grant Murphy, Professor of Practice (Voice), Walter Huff, Professor of Music (Choral Conducting) and Director of Opera Choruses, and David Dzubay, Professor of Music (Composition).
The Contest is an initiative of Dominick DiOrio, Professor of Music and Director of NOTUS: IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. DiOrio did not take part in the judging panel. The submission of scores was anonymous and the judges did not see names or identifying information until after the final decisions were made. The annual competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate composition students at the Jacobs School of Music.
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Erin C. Blake is a composer and performer from Bedford, New York. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music Degree at the Jacobs School of Music, studying composition with Don Freund, Han Lash, and Aaron Travers. Erin composes music that seeks to bring magic into the ordinary, often providing new meanings and stories behind places and occurrences in an endeavor to embrace the beautifully raw aspects of life. Erin is also active as a performer and loves to perform new music, having performed on multiple world premieres for piano, electronic keyboard, and voice.
Daniel (Jingyang) Cui is a Chinese-born composer who draws inspirations mostly from his Chinese background which includes culture, history and current social issues. As a person who spent a long time aboard his home country, it has been his passion to share his perspectives on China through music. However, he is also often inspired by little things such as the cuteness of animals or a fun anecdote. His compositions range from chamber pieces to orchestral works. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in composition at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, where he is working with David Dzubay and Aaron Travers. He completed his bachelor’s degree in composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, Australia. During his time in Australia, he studied with many well celebrated Australian composers such a Carl Vine, Paul Stanhope, and Gerard Brophy. He has collaborated with various professional ensembles world-wide such as Hub New Music, Prism Quartet, Sydney Chamber Choir, Sydney Conservatorium Orchestra and Sydney Conservatorium Clarinet Ensemble who had commissioned and premiered his works.
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