The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition was established in September 1983 through the generosity of Milton A. and Gloria Barlow.   Motivated by their love of music, the Barlow's presented a substantial gift to Brigham Young University, engendering and supporting excellence in musical composition. The Board of Directors and Board of Advisors have subsequently been engaged in employing the proceeds of the Endowment to support four programs: The Barlow Prize, General Commissions, LDS Commissions, and Education Grants. 

Barlow Prize:

2008 Category:

New Work for String Quartet

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The winning composer will receive a $12,000 commission from the Barlow Endowment to compose a major new work for string quartet.  A performing consortium consisting of the Lydian Quartet (Boston, Massachusetts) and the Avalon Quartet (DeKalb, Illinois) will premiere the work in 2010.

About the Endowment:

The annual Barlow Prize offers composers an opportunity to compete for a substantial commission (up to $20,000) to compose a major new work to be premiered by a consortium of performing groups (chosen by the Barlow Endowment) upon completion. 

There are no restrictions regarding musical style, nationality, age, gender, race, religion, or political persuasion. The emphasis of the Barlow Prize alternates each year among various media including choral, large and small chamber, orchestral music, and others. FAQs 

The annual General Commissions are offered to a select number of applicants who demonstrate outstanding achievement or promise, usually in collaboration with one or more performers or performing groups of their choice. The objective of the commissioning program is to encourage and support excellence in music composition. FAQs 

The annual LDS Composer Commissions are available to composers belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) or other composers who are willing to engage LDS subject matter.  These commissions are offered to a select number of applicants who demonstrate outstanding promise, usually in collaboration with one or more performers or performing groups of their choice. FAQs   

The Barlow Endowment provides annual support to the School of Music at Brigham Young University through Education Grants that support faculty and students in their compositional activities.

The Barlow Notes provides current information on Endowment activities. A compilation of past Prize Winners and Commission Recipients is also available.

2007 Winners Announced:

The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University takes pleasure in announcing commission winners for 2007. 

Barlow Prize:

After reviewing 327 composer applications from nearly two dozen countries  worldwide, the judging panel awarded Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez the $10,000 Barlow Prize to compose a new work for percussion ensemble. 

Born in Mexico City in 1964, Professor Sanchez-Gutierrez studied composition with Henri Dutilleux, Jacob Druckman, and Martin Bresnick.  He serves as Composer-in-Residence at the Morelia International New Music Festival in addition to similar duties with the Binghamton Philharmonic.  Past awards include prizes from the Koussevitzky, Guggenheim, Fromm, and Rockefeller foundations.  In 2000, Publico, the Mexican daily newspaper, named him Person of the Year. 

Sanchez-Gutierrez compositions receive frequent performances in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.  He holds an Associate Professorship in Composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  For more information, please visit his web site: http://www.carlossg.com/

General and LDS Composer Commissions:

Out of 135 applications for our General and LDS commissioning programs the Endowment granted $76,000 to twelve composers who will write works for the following:

Judging:

The judging panel included the Endowment’s Board of Advisors:  Melinda Wagner, Claude Baker, Lansing McLoskey, Daniel Gawthrop, and Steve Ricks.  John Costa served as a guest judge. 

Three representatives from the performing consortium associated with the 2009 premieres of Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez’s new work for percussion ensemble also collaborated in the deliberations: Ray Dillard (Nexus–Tornoto, Canada); Anders Loguin (Kroumata–Stockholm, Sweden); and Adam Sliwinski (So Percussion–New York City, USA).

The Endowment wises to thank all composers and ensembles who applied for commissions.  Because of limited resources, the Endowment regrets that many deserving composers and their projects went unfunded in 2007.

Endowment Contact Information:

Barlow Endowment Board of Directors:
Stephen M. Jones, Chair
Dale Monson, Vice Chair
Thomas Durham, Executive Director

Scott Boyter, Financial Officer
Rebecca Ott, Administrator  

Barlow Board of Advisors:
Lansing McLoskey 
Daniel Gawthrop 
Steven Ricks
David Rakowski 

Barlow Endowment for Music Composition
A-501 Harris Fine Arts Center
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
Phone: (801) 422-2818
Fax: (801) 422-0253
E-mail: barlowendowment@byu.edu