Young Composers and Songwriters Present Original Works for CASMEC 2022

by Dr. Lisa A. Crawford, CMEA Creating and Composition Representative

The many joys of CASMEC for me include, prominently, inclusion of the opportunity for educators to submit, on behalf of their students, original compositions and songs for inclusion in our CASMEC Young Composers Symposium. This year, as in the past, the songwriting and compositional work of young students was memorable. The Young Composers Symposium is not presented as a competition but as an opportunity for students to formally present themselves as a composer or songwriter and personal notes about their compositions.

A music educator who is known to work compositionally with students is invited each year to give a presentation about methods for composing and songwriting. This year, Ryan Duckworth, Choral Music Educator at Bloomington High School, presented From Nothing to Something, an overview of his compositional work with all students. Thank you, Ryan!

Thank you to each composer and music educator who joined us for CASMEC 2022! The music educators and their students included in the Symposium this year were: (click song title to hear)

Student: Elspeth Luu Composition: I Am My Own Educator: Asa Stern, Sam Lawson Middle School in Cupertino (CMEA Bay Section)

Student: Annette Ma Composition: Fanfare Variations Educator: Robbie Stange, Stevenson School, Middle and Upper

Divisions in Pebble Beach (CMEA Central Coast Section)

Student: Estevan Olmos Composition: Dystopia Educator: Dr. Randall Cornelison, University High School in

Fresno (CMEA Central Section)

Student: Alejandro Ruiz Composition: Last Night Alive Educator: Ryan Duckworth, Bloomington High School in

Bloomington (CMEA Southeastern Section)

Student: Kaiyue (Ethan) Guan Composition: No Shame in Games Educator: Susan Nace, Harker Upper School in San Jose (CMEA Bay Section)

Student: Beauregard Chiasson Composition: Waltz for a Groom Student: Jake Horvitz Composition: Streets Educator: Dr. Lisa A. Crawford, Geffen Academy at UCLA in

Los Angeles (CMEA Southwestern Section)

Submission Details

Students’ works are currently accepted on the “first-come, first served” plan. This way, those who know the deadline and are ready to submit may be demonstrating they have planned ahead!

As we enjoyed being back at CASMEC 2022 in person this year, we want to continue to develop the option of live performance for students’ compositions. This will provide the opportunity for students to work with their original works and an ensemble simultaneously. The Young Composers Symposium invites works of all types for submission: • All genres accepted • Songs with or without text, any arrangement • Digital compositions (songs, media, film or television, online sources) may be composed with any available applications • Contemporary small-ensemble works • Contemporary orchestral works

Students should submit both scores and recordings annually, November 1 - December 15, 2022. While compositions do not have to be composed under the guidance of a music educator, they must be submitted by an educator who is a member of CMEA.

Future Engagement

Over time, interested students may be added to a mailing list for check-ins on their continuing compositional process. Students may also choose to get involved with the upcoming Young Composers Ensemble and our Composition Zoom, both to begin later this year (Fall 2022). Your questions are welcomed about any of these details (lcrawford@geffenacademy.ucla.edu) and we are hopeful you will join us in the future!

Professional Presentations

Students this year were highly skilled at writing professional introductory presentations about themselves and their works. Beau Chiasson wrote about his composition for the musical, Sherlock: “I had a lot of fun writing this piece, and exploring and growing as a composer. If you remember one thing from this entire presentation, know that my entire process can be summed up in one sentence. “Be mindful, and unafraid.” 1) be mindful of the things mentioned earlier, about widening your sound and establishing “home bases” through musical motifs, when considering whether or not your piece sounds good. But, most importantly, 2) don’t be afraid to try new things. It’s okay to make mistakes during the process. Other ideas include: what makes music so beautiful to me is the idea that we have been given only 12 notes. 12 notes. And yet we haven’t even scratched the surface of the amount of things we can create; and, I make mistakes all the time. I try new things when I write because music is inherently full of room to explore and try, and mess up and try again. Without those mistakes, my music wouldn't be the same and I wouldn’t have as many opportunities to grow. Now, without further ado, here is my waltz piece Waltz for a Groom. I hope you enjoy it."