Executive Director Report
Thomas Durham
Executive Director
Barlow Endowment for Music Composition
Now in its 28th year of operations, the Barlow Endowment enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the premier sources of funding for composers who create new art music. In the last decade alone, the Endowment has awarded over $130,000 to ten Barlow Prize-winners, each of whom survived formidable competition in our flagship commissioning program. Barlow Prize awards have ranged from $10,000-$20,000. Composers have written new works for choir, orchestra, band, string quartet, and other chamber ensembles. The wide variety of ensembles with which the Endowment partners not only for the Barlow Prize, but for all our commissioning programs represents one of our greatest assets. Global interest in the Barlow Prize continues to expand, and the stature of this award has exceeded original expectations. Hundreds of composers continue to enter this prestigious annual international competition. Since 2001, over 3,000 composers have submitted materials for the Barlow Prize representing dozens of countries from every continent. We typically process an average of 320 applications each year.
As an agency that awards the creation of new compositions, the Endowment may stand alone in this respect: We only award composers for works not yet written with the guaranteed promise of performance. In the case of the Barlow Prize, we arrange for multiple premieres. This “multiple premiere” concept adds weight to the unveiling of a major new work, and launches it in a broader manner than the usual single performance typical of so many new works. For our GENERAL and LDS commissioning programs, a fundamental part of the application requires composers to provide documentation from artists and ensembles promising to support and premiere the work. These two ingredients, the creation of new music with a guaranteed performance combine to form the backbone of the Endowment’s raison d’etre.
In addition to funding composers, the Barlow Endowment’s Education Grants program supports and nurtures composition students at Brigham Young University’s School of Music. Besides scholarships and exposure to the world of modern music, we support an internship program that allows selected students to participate at important annual meetings and judging sessions each summer.
Finally, without the support of Brigham Young University, and the hard work of dedicated staff, advisors, directors, and the Barlow family, the Endowment’s successess simply would not happen.