Wallinga and Sink named winners of NOTUS Student Composition Contest
Two Jacobs School composition students have been named prizewinners in this year’s NOTUS Choral Composition Contest.
Patricia Wallinga is the first-prize winner for her work Portraits of Wartime for mixed chorus and cello. Wallinga is a first-year undergraduate composition student studying with Don Freund. She is also a member of NOTUS and will sing in the premiere of her work on the March concert. Wallinga says of the work: “Portraits of Wartime is a sonic exploration of those things that seem to remain constant generation after generation, whether that be the winds of change, the fearful pounding of wars, or the faithful beauty of the stars.”
Phillip Sink is the second-prize winner for his work Fire and Ice for mixed chorus a cappella. Sink is currently a doctoral fellow in composition studying with David Dzubay, and he has also studied with Aaron Travers, Ricardo Lorenz, Jere Hutcheson, and Scott Meister. He says of his work: “I listened to Robert Frost reciting his poem, “Fire and Ice” … Considering that the poem was written before many of the atrocities that occurred in the twentieth century, I see Frost’s words as a timeless warning to us all.”
NOTUS will premiere the two prize-winning works on the concert program Hot Off the Press on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in Auer Hall at 8 p.m. The concert will also feature works of living composers, part of which will be repeated on Friday, March 21, 2014, as part of “a cappella next!” a special event in New York City as part of the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) season at Carnegie Hall / Weill Recital Hall.
Two honorable mentions were also given for Yihan Chen’s Immolation and Steven Snethkamp’s Substance is Eternal.
The Contest is an initiative of Dominick DiOrio, choral conducting faculty member and conductor of NOTUS: IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. The annual competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students at the Jacobs School of Music.
Chancellor’s Professor of Composition Claude Baker and Executive Associate Dean and Professor of Composition Eugene O’Brien, along with DiOrio, served as judges for the competition. The submission of scores was anonymous and the panel did not see names or identifying information until after final decisions were made.
Patricia Wallinga (b. 1994) is a composer and double bassist in her first year of undergraduate studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studies composition with Don Freund. Known for her vocal music, she received first place at the Illinois Music Educator’s Association All-State Festival for her vocal ensemble music in 2012 and 2013; she also placed highly in several additional categories at the festival. In addition, she has had numerous works performed and recorded by members of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and students at the DePaul School of Music and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Music. Originally from Naperville, IL, she currently resides in Bloomington, IN.
Phillip Sink (b. 1982) received bachelor’s degrees in music composition/theory and music education from Appalachian State University and masters degrees in music composition and music theory pedagogy from Michigan State University. He is currently a doctoral fellow at the Jacobs School of Music where he is pursuing a DM in music composition with minors in electronic music and music theory. He currently studies with David Dzubay. His music has been performed at conferences and festivals including: 2013 Kansas Music Educators Association conference, the 2012 World Saxophone Conference, the 2011 Brevard Music Festival, and the 2010 Chamber Music Institute.