2024 Annual Report
2024 Winners
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Toggle ItemPrize Winner
The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University proudly announces the Barlow Prize recipient for 2024.
After reviewing 384 submissions from 47 countries, the judging panel awarded Karim Al-Zand the $15,000 Barlow Prize to compose a major new work for organ, to be premiered by a consortium of performers which will include Chelsea Chen, Don Cook, Janette Fishell, and Bradley Hunter Welch.
Known for his “strong and startlingly lovely” music (Boston Globe), Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand’s compositions span a wide range of influences and inspirations. His diverse portfolio includes solo, chamber, vocal, and orchestral works that draw from a rich tapestry of sources such as graphic art, myths, world folk music, and his Middle Eastern heritage. With accolades including the ArtSong Prize and the Arts and Letters Award in Music, Al-Zand's innovative compositions continue to leave a significant mark internationally. A founding member of Musiqa, Houston’s premier contemporary music group, Al-Zand is a Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
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Toggle ItemPremieres and Performances
Click on an image for more information regarding premieres and performances of pieces written by Barlow recipients.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=data-content-type="event"David Jones' " Language Study: Nga Naman Pala Po Ba?"
7:30 PMFriday, April 12overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=data-content-type="event"Mathew Arrellín's "Splintered Obsidian Reflections"
7:00 PMSaturday, August 03overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=data-content-type="event"Christopher Trapani's "the color of where you can never go"
7:30 PM - 9:00 PMFriday, October 04overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=data-content-type="event"Shawn Okpebholo's "Harlem Dance Hall: The Savoy"
3:00 PM - 5:00 PMSunday, October 20overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment= -
Toggle ItemChair Report
2024 was a year of distinction for the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at BYU. In March, we celebrated 40 years of this great endowment that was made possible by the vision and generosity of Milton and Gloria Barlow. A series of concerts highlighting Barlow Prize and Commission winning composers and performers, along with lectures, a reception, and a family dinner brought together so many who have been influenced and supported by this wonderful organization. It was incredible to share with the Barlow family the legacy that continues to thrive and inspire new generations of composers. This year’s $15,000 Barlow Prize was awarded to Canadian-American composer Karim Al-Zand to compose a major new work for organ to be performed by a distinguished consortium of talented organists: Chelsea Chen, Don Cook, Janette Fishell, and Bradley Hunter Welch. A further $80,000 in commissions were awarded to 10 talented composers, whose new works will be performed by a variety of ensembles, continuing the Endowment’s legacy of supporting innovative compositions across diverse musical landscapes.
Sadly, 2024 saw the completion of Miguel del Aguila’s four-year term on the Barlow Board of Advisors and we thank him for his invaluable contributions. Miguel took his assignments as an advisor seriously and we are so grateful for the service he provided with kindness, intelligence, and a genuine spirit of camaraderie. We also welcomed Carolina Heredia as an advisor for 2024 only and are grateful for her insights and passionate support of all composers.
In terms of leadership, we bid a fond farewell to Nancy Barlow, who completes a phenomenal ten-year term as the Barlow Family Representative on the Board of Directors. Nancy has been instrumental in the continued success of the Endowment, and her dedication will be greatly missed. 2024 also marked my last summer meetings as Chair of the Board. After ten years of service as Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, I will step down in June 2025 and pass the reins of the Barlow Endowment on to the incoming Dean. I’m grateful for my time serving on the Board. I’ve learned so much from my interactions with judges and serving with executive directors Ethan Wickman and Dan Bradshaw. I’ve admired the dedication and commitment of the administrators, staff and students who have worked on Barlow during my tenure. I appreciate the Barlow family’s continued commitment to this work. Finally, I appreciate the far-reaching impact the endowment has on Brigham Young University and the perpetuation of music composition.
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Toggle ItemIntern Reports
As an intern, I helped the judges by presenting the submitted compositions to
them so that they could pick contenders to be judged as a group. This allowed me to get a lot of exposure to the many kinds and styles of music people create today, giving me insights into the minds of great composers and musicians. I learned a lot from listening to the varieties of music in the submissions. The composers used a variety of techniques and approaches to music in ways that I have never really considered. A lot of the compositions were fairly ambient or experimental, though there were some with structure and nuance that I really appreciated. Listening to all the different usages of sound in the submissions gave me lots of inspiration for my own future compositions. Listening in on the judges describe the submitted compositions during the process was very insightful for me. They pointed out concepts such as meter, color and development, and how proper application of those concepts affects the quality of the piece. Their remarks helped me think about how I can be more mindful of these aspects as I write my own music. I enjoyed being able to talk with the judges and learn about them during break times. I learned more about harmony, its ability to affect music in many ways, and by which means composers create harmony in their music. I give my thanks to the Barlow family for allowing me this opportunity to serve alongside the judges. It was an honor to be a part of the event this year. It helped me enhance my understanding of music composition and the new music of our day and age.
Running the recordings for the judges taught me several things. I noticed that much of what they said involved musical form. They were concerned about how the pieces held their attention; some pieces seemed to have little to no direction. I remember one specific piece that kept building energy and tension, but never came to a satisfactory climax. Through this I learned about the importance of form, and have placed an emphasis on it in my own work. As an intern I had the opportunity to contemplate and form my own opinion on the state of modern music, shaped by the judge’s comments and my own listening. Much of modern art music has largely abandoned those musical elements that, in my opinion, make the works of the great composers of old so wonderful and powerful. I remember the judges in one session mentioning that it is rare to find meter in new music anymore, something that I noticed as well while listening. The pieces they recommended to forward were some of those exceptions that did have meter. Another aspect they pointed out is the lack of layers in the music; it is all foreground or all background. This experience has helped me to appreciate where music is at currently and has motivated me to write music that speaks powerfully to audiences in ways they will find meaningful. I enjoyed and appreciated the experiences I had as an intern, and I thank the Barlow family for both their support of new music and the learning opportunity they have given myself and my fellow interns. This experience gave me much to think about and a motivation to strive for excellence in composition as I move forward.
I attended the judging sessions at the Snowbird Resort where I had the opportunity to work with many advisors, administrators, and members of the Barlow family. As an intern helping with and listening in on the judging process for the Barlow commission, I learned more than I thought was possible to learn. It was interesting to notice the differences between working with advisors individually versus collectively as well as hearing the opinions of the advisors I knew previously and those I met at the judging process. The advisors I worked with in preliminary judging sessions took time to search for a wide range of styles and skills to present at the final judging round. They gave each composer time by listening to various sections of a piece and attempted to release any biases that might exist in their own music preferences. I found it difficult to set aside my own musical preferences and was impressed at the open-mindedness of the judges during this process. The discourse between all of the advisors was incredibly diverse as everyone brought their own perspectives and priorities to the pieces and the judging process. The most interesting part of the final judging rounds was to hear the organists opinions about the compositions that were presented. They gave specific organ composition advice and their thoughts on what makes interesting new organ repertoire. I could see the value of having organists voices when searching for a composer to write an organ composition. I thank Nancy, Gloria, and the entire Barlow family for the opportunity I had to be an intern at Snowbird and the opportunities that the Barlow Endowment opens to composers all around the world.
Getting to be a part of the Barlow Endowment process was such a cool and insightful experience! Huge thanks to the Barlow family for the opportunity to work with composers and professors, and for all the accommodations they made to have me and the other interns here. Music is so important, and it’s so refreshing to see how the endowment uplifts new composers. While being in the judging rooms, I learned a lot about what composer-judges are looking for. It will be good for me to have these comments from the judges in the back of my mind as I submit applications for other contests and competitions in the future. Judges look for a unique style that also has an emotional and intellectual impact. When emotional impact is lacking, the piece loses meaning. The most profound experience I had was in the final judging processes, where all of the judges sat together and made the final decisions. There were some important discussions about representation and discrimination in the world of music, particularly, “academic” fields. It’s an important conversation to have, and I’m happy to see that no one shied away from expressing their thoughts and opinions on this subject. As conversations like these keep continuing, I think we will have a broader range of composers submitting applications for the Barlow Endowment, and we can support more composers from all backgrounds, situations, styles, and genres of music. Once again, thank you to the Barlow family and their support.
My internship with the Barlow Commission in 2024 inspired me as a person and a composer. I live in a world saturated with influencers, critics, and their reviews of everything from paintings to vacuum cleaners, so I thought I wouldn’t learn much from watching even preeminent musicians judge submissions for the Barlow Prize and Commissions. But I was wrong! I was not surprised that the judges were all experts with wise opinions. But I was surprised to see them frequently disagree! One judge’s “best ever” was another’s “unremarkable.” I had thought that all their musical experience would usually yield a consensus of opinion, but it often didn’t! As I watched the judges deliberate over who should receive prizes and commissions, I was struck by how many disagreements were left unresolved. I discovered that no artist can please every critic—no matter how wise the artist or the critics in question. And I feel relief in this knowledge! To be creative is to be vulnerable, and the fear of rejection is more daunting than even rejection itself. I have hidden from that fear before. But now I know there is no reason to hide! Rejection will happen. Failure will happen. And that doesn’t mean I’m doing things wrong, just that I’m doing them! I have learned that it is good to be decisive, to be confident, to be myself. In the end, there is no such thing as artistic perfection. Life is made of unfinished business, and art is no exception. The most important thing is to choose to try. To the Barlow family: thank you for giving me the opportunity to see this pearl of wisdom at work like I have never seen it before. I will need it, and I will remember it!
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Toggle ItemPersonnel
Kevin Patrick Anthony, with a PhD from the University of California, Irvine in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology, is a music composer, electronicist, and artist who blends traditional composition with modern technology. His academic background includes degrees from Brigham Young University Idaho (BMA) and Brigham Young University (MA in Music Composition), establishing a strong foundation in music and creativity. His work, which explores digital signal processing, AI, virtual reality, and motion-to-music translation, reflects his commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration. Recent highlights include performances at national and international conferences such as NIME, SEAMUS, and the EMM annual festival, and his compositions have been featured in an award-winning film at the EDM Dance Film Festival, Toronto Lift-off Film Festival, and the New York Arts and Entertainment Festival. He has also collaborated with groups such as Hub New Music and the BYU Singers. Recently, Kevin collaborated with Keely Glenn and Michelle Kesler on the Within the Canyon performance—a large interdisciplinary live concert featuring acoustic music, interactive electronics, dance, and 270-degree video projection. In addition, he presented his research on immersive music at Purdue University. Currently, he teaches music composition at Brigham Young University Provo and lives with his family in Springville, Utah.
Miguel del Aguila is a three-time Grammy-nominated American composer known for his rhythm-driven, Latin-inspired modern classical music. With over 140 compositions, his work blends traditional forms with innovative techniques, drawing heavily from his Latin American heritage. Del Aguila’s music has been performed by more than 100 orchestras worldwide, including prestigious ensembles such as the Springfield, Santa Fe, and Duluth Symphonies, and conducted by renowned figures like Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, and JoAnn Falletta. His 65 CDs have topped the Billboard Classical Charts, earning widespread acclaim for their brilliance, wit, and sonic energy. In the 2024-2025 season, his works will be showcased at prominent venues such as the Kennedy Center and New World Symphony, alongside premieres in festivals like the Canberra International Film Festival and National Flute Convention. New album releases include Black Moon Trio and Miguel del Aguila: Barroqueada for horn & piano.
Carolina Heredia composes acoustic and electronic music and produces interdisciplinary artworks. She has a musical background in Western European Classical and Electronic, South American folk, and Argentinian tango music. She has received prestigious composition awards, including the 2015 Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, the 2019 Barlow Music Composition Commission, the 2018 Missouri Music Teachers Association, and the 2017 John Corigliano Composition International Competition at Chamber Music OC, among others. Her music has been programmed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Green Umbrella Series, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra series, the NYC SONIC Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Lake George Music Festival, and the Bowdoin Music Festival, among others. She was a founding member and the Executive Director of the Khemia Ensemble and is currently a founding member of ANTiCX, a collective of multimedia artists. Carolina holds a Doctorate in Music Composition and was a Research Fellow for the Institute of Humanities at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Missouri and later an Assistant Professor in Music Composition and Associate Director for the Mizzou New Music Initiative before taking the position of Director of Programs for the American Composers Forum. She is currently based in Los Ángeles, California.
David A. Jones is a composer, hornist, singer, and educator based in Salem, Oregon. He teaches at Linn-Benton Community College, directs the New Horizons Willamette Valley Orchestra, and serves as Vice President of the Cascadia Composers chapter of NACUSA, a Tagalog-speaking member of the Oregon Secretary of State's Translation Advisory Council, and as a founding member of the Willamette River Horn Quartet. Jones champions music that is intricate and cleverly crafted while still being comprehensible and relatable. His quietly energetic music is a blend of the comfortably expected and the delightfully unexpected. Recent highlights include performances of his music by soprano Madeline Ross, the Willamette Valley Concert Band, the Georgia Southern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the Statesboro Chamber Orchestra. This summer, Jones will release his debut solo album, Golden Scenescapes, featuring a little-known Sonata for Horn and Piano by Ernest Gold, alongside his own horn sonata and music by Ryan M. Hare and Ken Davies. He lives with his wife and two children in Salem, Oregon.
Julián Mansilla serves as a Professor of Music at the Conservatory of Music of Bahía Blanca, Argentina. He teaches Music Education, Music Pedagogy, and Musical Improvisation Techniques, and also serves as Head of the Department of Instrumental Music and Vocal Studies at CMBB. In addition to his teaching, he continues to organize the festival "Che Bandoneón!" in his hometown, where he presents concerts and classes aimed at expanding the repertoire and visibility of the bandoneon. In recent years, he has made significant progress in creating compositions and educational materials to increase access to this instrument. As a composer, he continues his project "Buscando Caminos", focusing many of his compositions through his group, the Napostá Quartet. Last year, he began a new composition project titled "Pictures from a Religion", inspired by 10 images of the eyes and hands of 10 LDS artists. The project is envisioned as a musical suite referencing Modest Mussorgsky’s masterpiece. Alongside his extensive teaching work, Julián actively contributes as a composer and performer in various ensembles. In 2025, he will perform his double concerto for bandoneon and French horn with the Bahía Blanca Symphony Orchestra. He currently lives with his wife and their three young children in Argentina.
Juri Seo, Associate Professor of Music at Princeton University, is a Korean-American composer and pianist. Her compositions merge many of the fascinating discoveries from the past century—in particular, the expanded timbral palette and unorthodox structures—with functional tonality, counterpoint, and classical form. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of a Koussevitzky Commission from the Library of Congress. In 2025, her new work The Parliament of Fowles, a setting of Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, was premiered at the Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. She is also looking forward to the premiere of her string orchestra work Songbird by the New York Classical Players in March. She is currently working on a new piece for the Terra String Quartet, which will be presented at Caramoor. Her fourth portrait album, Obsolete Music, is set to be released by New Amsterdam Records in June.
Consortium Representatives
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Don Cook
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Scott Dettra
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Yui Kitamura
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Stephen Price
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Michael Cottle
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Nathan Haines
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Ed AdamsFamily Representative
Nancy Barlow
Vice Chair
Diane ReichFinancial Officer
Thaylene Rogers
Executive Director
Dan BradshawAdministrator
Francie Jenson
