The Score | Emerging Voices

Young composers dream of hearing their works performed live by an orchestra, and the thirteenth annual Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, co-presented by the American Composers Forum, provided just that opportunity. In January, seven emerging composers from around the nation attended the five-day professional training program in Minneapolis, which culminated in the orchestra’s Jan. 29 concert spotlighting their works. Pictured above, left to right, are composers Kirsten Broberg, Nick DiBerardino, Emily Cooley, Matthew Browne, Joshua Cerdenia, Anthony Vine, and Michael Gilbertson; Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute Director Kevin Puts; and Music Director Osmo Vänskä. Prior to the “Future Classics” concert—which comprised Broberg’s Celestial Drawing, Browne’s Barnstorming Season, Cerdenia’s Magayon, Cooley’s Scroll of the Air, Diberardino’s Asphodel, Gilbertson’s Sinfonia After Vivaldi, and Vine’s Transmission—the composers attended seminars on writing for orchestral instruments led by musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra. Institute attendees also met with Norman Ryan, vice president of Schott Music, and received individual coachings from composer and Institute Director Kevin Puts and feedback from the orchestra’s music director, Osmo Vänskä.