Louisiana Composer Competition
RAY EVANOFF WINS INAUGURAL COMPETITION FOR LOUISIANA COMPOSERS
The Louis Moreau Institute has selected Ray Evanoff’s Interpolations hewn from a choice machine as the winner of their inaugural LMI Louisiana Composer Competition.
Interpolations hewn from a choice machine (2011) for flute, violin and piano, was chosen by composer and LMI director Morris Rosenzweig from several entries, and was performed in February 2016 as part of the Louis Moreau Institute’s new music program.
Composer Morris Rosenzweig founded the Louis Moreau Institute last year, bringing an ensemble of six musicians, the “Louies”, together to New Orleans for a week of performances focusing on modern and contemporary music. Rosenzweig is a New Orleans native currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah, who has remained engaged with the classical music scene here in New Orleans. In addition to focusing on new music, the LMI draws from and highlights the rich musical traditions in New Orleans by showcasing works by regional composers – or works somehow about the region – and improvisation using traditional regional material as a foundation, played in a non-traditional way. The Louis Moreau Institute takes its name, in part, to honor both 19th century New Orleans Composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Louis Armstrong; the Composer Competition continues this focus on local music, as the competition was limited to current or former Louisiana residents.
Ray Evanoff (b. 1984) is an American composer whose work explores scale, interference, interconnection, and the interplay between consonance and dissonance. His music is heavily influenced by his extended collaborations and personal relationships with the performers he writes for. He has been performed and commissioned by numerous contemporary music specialists such as Ensemble Dal Niente, Distractfold Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, Seth Josel, Mabel Kwan, Kevin McFarland, and Samuel Stoll, in concerts across Europe and North America. His projects have been supported by institutions such as the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, the Harry and Alice Eiler Foundation, MATA, and New Music USA. He is an active concert organizer and arts presenter, and is the founder, director, and editor of FOCI Arts, a contemporary arts organization and online periodical. He studied at the College of Charleston, where he received his BA in Music Theory and Composition in 2006, and the University of Huddersfield, where he received his MMus in Music Composition in 2009 and his PhD in 2012. He lives in New Orleans.
Interpolations hewn from a choice machine (2011) for flute, violin and piano, was chosen by composer and LMI director Morris Rosenzweig from several entries, and was performed in February 2016 as part of the Louis Moreau Institute’s new music program.
Composer Morris Rosenzweig founded the Louis Moreau Institute last year, bringing an ensemble of six musicians, the “Louies”, together to New Orleans for a week of performances focusing on modern and contemporary music. Rosenzweig is a New Orleans native currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah, who has remained engaged with the classical music scene here in New Orleans. In addition to focusing on new music, the LMI draws from and highlights the rich musical traditions in New Orleans by showcasing works by regional composers – or works somehow about the region – and improvisation using traditional regional material as a foundation, played in a non-traditional way. The Louis Moreau Institute takes its name, in part, to honor both 19th century New Orleans Composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Louis Armstrong; the Composer Competition continues this focus on local music, as the competition was limited to current or former Louisiana residents.
Ray Evanoff (b. 1984) is an American composer whose work explores scale, interference, interconnection, and the interplay between consonance and dissonance. His music is heavily influenced by his extended collaborations and personal relationships with the performers he writes for. He has been performed and commissioned by numerous contemporary music specialists such as Ensemble Dal Niente, Distractfold Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, Seth Josel, Mabel Kwan, Kevin McFarland, and Samuel Stoll, in concerts across Europe and North America. His projects have been supported by institutions such as the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, the Harry and Alice Eiler Foundation, MATA, and New Music USA. He is an active concert organizer and arts presenter, and is the founder, director, and editor of FOCI Arts, a contemporary arts organization and online periodical. He studied at the College of Charleston, where he received his BA in Music Theory and Composition in 2006, and the University of Huddersfield, where he received his MMus in Music Composition in 2009 and his PhD in 2012. He lives in New Orleans.
