 Ninth Plant New Music is excited to announce Selim Göncü as the recipient of the 35th annual Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer’s Award. Göncü's piece Widerklang for 5 players was selected from over 100 submissions by a panel of six judges. In addition to a receiving a $1,000 prize, Göncü's piece will be performed by Ninth Planet during the 2020-2021 season. Board President and Ettelson judge Daniel Godsil praises Widerklang, stating "[Göncü] takes sounds and gestures more often reserved for the avant-garde and crystallizes them into a tight, visceral, and— dare I say— fun six-minute gem of a piece."  ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Selim Göncü graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz with the highest distinction and currently continues his doctoral studies in composition at University of California, Berkeley. His primary teachers are Franck Bedrossian, Ken Ueno and Clemens Gadenstätter. He attended workshops by distinguished composers like Philippe Leroux, Georg Friedrich Haas, Francesco Filidei, Philippe Hurel, Franck Bedrossian, Dieter Ammann, Beat Furrer, Klaus Huber, Isabel Mundry and Aaron Cassidy. In 2016, he participated in IRCAM ManiFeste Festival, where his dimINNUENDO was premiered by Ensemble Intercontemporain. His recent work for keyboard and large ensemble with mixed-media, post-pandemonium was premiered by Alarm Will Sound in Missouri International Composers Festival in 2017. He was honored with the Nicola de Lorenzo Prize in Composition and the Chamber Music OC California Prize in 2018. Selim is Composer in Residence of New York based new music sinfonietta Ensemble Échappé and is contributing director of sfSound. ABOUT THE AWARD: The Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer's Award is an annual prize for composition. It was first awarded in 1986 by Composers, Inc., a non-profit advocate organization for living American composers.
The prize began in 1986 as a composition prize for living American composers. In 1991, the prize was renamed in honor of Lee Ettelson (1898-1988). He was a successful reporter and editor for newspapers across the country, working for several years as the right-hand-man of media titan William Hearst. After retiring from journalism at The San Francisco Examiner, he also served as the head of the California Department of Motor Vehicles under Edmund G. (Pat) Brown. Lee's wife, Suzanne Ettelson (1913-2005) was a driving force in the San Francisco music community. She founded the San Francisco Chamber Music Society in the 1960s, before helping found Composers, Inc, where she served on the board for several years, including as the board president. After her passing, her name was added to the award. A Ninth Planet press kit can be accessed here. Comments are closed.
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Ninth PlanetNew Music providers for the solar system and beyond. Based in the SF Bay Area, CA. Archives
December 2020
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