ForrestWorks

I’m pleased (and humbly grateful!) to announce that I’ve been awarded the 2009 Raabe Prize For Excellence in Sacred Music Composition from the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. Every two years, they offer a prize for a piece written in the last five years, that represents a “larger history of excellence on the part of the composer, who need not be Lutheran.” It says a lot about their commitment to excellent church music that they’re willing to award this prize even outside their denomination. I entered my “in paradisum…”  which was premiered at BJU last May, and apparently it was received well by the judges!

To provide some context, the past two winners (2007 and 2005) were David Cherwein and John Ferguson. (!) See more info here.

in paradisum… will, as a result, be performed at the ALCM Biennial Conference in Milwaukee, in August 2009, where the award will be formally announced.

Additionally…I’ve known for some time that I’m a finalist in another international contest I entered several months ago…but the official announcement of the finalists isn’t being made until the official announcement of the winners- so I’m having to bide my time on that one… I think it would be a long shot for me to win this other contest, but I’m more than pleased at being a finalist in it! More details as things are officially announced…sometime?