We love the surprise of learning about the composers at the end of the blind evaluation and voting process; we have the opportunity to encounter composers of all ages, male and female, from all around the world. Some are flutist/composers, while others appreciate the instrument, a few wrote the piece on commission, and (just once) a composer who wrote for a piece for solo flute, an instrument he was not particularly fond of so as to learn more about it, and produced one of the most popular works we’ve encountered in the composition contest!
Gabrielle Cadenhead, honorable mention in the solo flute category in 2018 for Echo, is one of several flutist-composers who have found success in the competition. Their understanding the instrument often contributes to their skill in writing pieces that are really musically effective. Gabrielle is among our youngest honored composers, she was just 20 when her piece was selected, and the second Australian (randomly, the winner of the solo flute category last year was Australian.)
We really love Echo, it is a refreshing departure from the aesthetic of many solo flute works. Although we certainly love virtuosic displays and challenging extended techniques, Echo is virtuosic in a different way, this contemplative solo requires great control and musicality as the musical line is often quite static. The extended techniques (mostly singing and playing and harmonics) feel very organic. After learning about Gabrielle’s influences we see Echo as a representation of her compositional style; she composed a poem for the work, which is inspired by her experiences in church and her faith, and is intended to be performed in a space like a church where the reverberations will fill the space with sound.

Q&A with Gabrielle…
What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
As both composer and performer, the flute presents a coalescence of my skills, which makes composing and performing new music for the flute a great joy as I am simultaneously in the mind of both roles
 
Who is/are your favorite “new music” composer/s and why?Who is/are your favorite “new music” composer/s and why?
Difficult choice, but Amanda Cole's chamber works always possess a real conceptual integrity and wonderful sound world. Jennifer Jolley's works generally impress me with their boldness and unapologetic confrontation of contemporary politics. And Emily Doolittle's animal transcription music is a fascinating study in the relationship between humanity and the environment.
 
Do you have any upcoming events that you would like our friends and followers to know about?
I am currently working on a solo flute EP where I am both composer and performer, to be released later this year, on which 'Echo' will feature alongside four other works by me. Blending words, notation and improvisation. Stay up to date by following me on Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook.
 
What advice can you give to flutists about approaching new music in practice?
The flute is incredibly versatile and can do much more than what is contained in conventional classical repertoire. Open your mind to composers' ideas and experiment with your own - workshopping new pieces with composers is a fantastic creative opportunity for both parties.
 
More About Gabrielle...
Gabrielle Cadenhead (b. 1998) is an emerging writer, composer and flautist who blurs the line between music and poetry. She is currently studying English and Composition at the University of Sydney and Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Gabrielle's music is inspired by literature, social justice, faith and the natural world, and has been performed by youth orchestras and professional musicians alike. She is most interested in the intersection between her artforms - the rhythms of poetry, and the ability of music to tell compelling stories. She performs regularly as Principal Flute of Sydney Youth Orchestras' Symphonic Wind Orchestra, and has performed solo as part of Extended Play New Music Festival at Sydney's City Recital Hall. She is a founding member of Konzertprojekt, a collective of composers and performers passionate about presenting new and old music in fresh contexts, and her writing often bleeds into her musical practices. Learn more: https://gabriellecadenhead.wixsite.com

​If You Liked Echo…
Articulate  
Instrumentation: solo flute
Date of Composition: 2017
Duration: 7:30
 
Echo
Instrumentation: poetry and solo flute
Date of Composition: 2018
Duration: 8:00
Score available for download
 
Luminosa
Instrumentation: flute, piano, vibraphone and string quintet
Date of Composition: 2018
Duration: 6:32
 
Morning Song
Instrumentation: soprano, flute, viola and piano
Date of Composition: 2017
Duration: 7:32
 
Something Elvish
Instrumentation: flute, violin and cello
Date of Composition: 2016
Duration: 5:11
 
If you would like to access the scores/parts for any of these works, please email [email protected]

 As I assemble the composer spotlights, I make it a practice to listen to the piece for which the composer was honored and I’m almost always quickly reminded why the piece was successful in the competition. Jean Ahn’s Toys for flute, piano, and windup toy, chosen as the honorable mention in the flute and accompaniment category, is just such a work. It is such a clever work, she produces really fascinating colors, the flute and piano are really well integrated with ever changing roles, and her incorporation of standard nursery rhymes is clever, but never cloying. Toys is quickly becoming popular with our members; Shelley Martinson and Nicole Riner have already performed it, and Mary Matthews Norton will perform it on her faculty recital at Tennessee Tech on April 5th.
 
Jean, a lecturer at UC Berkeley is also the director of Ensemble Ari, a chamber ensemble with the mission of bridging Korea and other communities through western instruments while honoring Korean history and culture. In listening to Jean’s music, I feel the same could be said of many of her compositions. She deftly melds Korean influences, western classical aesthetics, and extended techniques to create interesting and engaging works with her own individual voice. We hope you’ll enjoy learning more about Jean and her music.
 
Q&A with Jean…

Flute has so much possibility especially with breathing and lip control.What about new music for the flute appeals to you?
The flute has so many possibilities; especially with breathing and lip control. Also, it was actually the performers who inspired me. When Duo Cameraderie (Laura Scarlata, flute/ Sharon Lee Kim, piano) commissioned me to write ​Toys for them, their musicality and dedication to new music were the inspiration. 
 
Who is/are your favorite “new music” composer/s and why?
Marcos Balter, innovative but not esoteric.
 
What is/are your favorite “new music” piece/s and why?
The Ligeti Études. Although not a flute work, I think they give me inspiration for any piece I write.
 
What advice can you give to flutists about approaching new music in practice?
Don't be afraid. It is worth it. (FNMC note: We couldn’t agree more!)
 
More About Jean…
Born in Korea, Jean Ahn began to study piano and composition at a very early age. She finished her B.A. and M.M. at Seoul National University and PhD at UC Berkeley where her teachers included Edmund Campion, Cindy Cox, David Wessel, Jorge Liederman and Richard Felciano. Her creative output includes works ranging from solo instruments to full orchestra, as well as choral, dance and electroacoustic music. Awards for her compositions include 1st prize from the Renée Fisher Award, the Korean National Music Composers Award, 1st prize from the Sejong Korean Music Competition and UC Berkeley’s the De Lorenzo Prize. Jean’s music was featured at Aspen Music Festival (Susan and Ford Schumann Composition Fellow), June in Buffalo, the Madness and Music Festival (UC Davis), the Oregon Bach Festival, the Etchings Festival, SCI conferences, IAWM Beijing Congress, SEAMUS, the Spark Festival, the Fresno New Music Festival, Women Composers Conference in Australia, Women Composers Festival at Hartford, New York City Electronic Music Festival, among others. Commissions include works for the Leftcoast Chamber Ensemble, Volti Chamber Choir, Duo Camaraderie, SF Choral Artists, Gayaguem Soloist JUL, Locrian Chamber Players, and the Pianissimo, among others. Her work has been performed by Earplay, UC Davis Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Sur Plus, pianist Lisa Moore (Bang on a can), Contemporaneous Ensemble, Invoke String Quartet and others. Jean has been giving lecture recitals with Singer Raejin Lee on “Folksong Revisited” for voice and piano at College Music Society Symposiums, NATS(National Association of Singers Convention) and Symposium in New Music, Brazil. The collection with CD and score will be published in 2018, which shows her vision to introduce Korean songs and techniques to professional performers in the US. She is the director of Ensemble ARI and CMO/Advisor for Cool Jamm Company. www.jeanahn.com
 
If You Liked Toys…
 Stereograph
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
Date of Composition: 2004/2018
 
Lapis Reprobatus
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet and cello
Date of Composition: 2016
Duration: 8:00