September 15, 2025
Contact: Lynn Provenzano: 915-449-0619 or lprovenzano@epsmf.org
El Paso, Texas–The El Paso Society for Musicians of the Future (EPSMF) announces the finalists for the Original Music/New Ideas (OM/NI) Strings Competition for Young Composers. This competition calls to exceptionally talented composers to compete for cash awards with new original music scores in two categories, emerging Composers (ages 17-25) and the Junior Division (ages 9-16). The competition has grown to cross borders with local, national, and international applications. The top Emerging Composer award is $750 and the followed by second and third place awards of $500 and $250. The top award in the Junior Division is $300 followed by second and third place awards of $200 and $100. All finalists are eligible for the Audience Choice Award of $200. All of the finalists in this competition will be publicly recognized for their achievements.
Winning scores will be announced, performed and recorded on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at Unity Church, 1420 Alabama, El Paso, TX 79905
The 2023-2025 Strings Competition Finalists are:
JUNIOR DIVISION: (ages 9-16)
Euler-Scherzo: Nathaniel Koh B.Y. (Accompanied Violin)
Arise: Justin Harvey (Accompanied Cello)
Her Name’s…Mahogany: Antonia Zhurak (Accompanied Cello)
Bird Island: Michal Šlais (Unaccompanied Violin)
Whitewashed: Adah Kaplan (Unaccompanied Violin)
Kaleidoscope: Koharu Sakiyama (Unaccompanied Violin)
EMERGENT DIVISION: (ages 17-25)
Wintergale by James Pecore (Unaccompanied Violin Solo)
Rondo for Solo Violin No. 1 by Amir Avsker (Unaccompanied Violin Solo)
The Fairy and the Woodcutter by Soomin Kim (Accompanied Violin Solo)
Two Pieces for Solo Violin: Guy Shapira (Unaccompanied Violin)
Two Hispanic Dances for Violin and Piano by Jorge Tabares (Accompanied Violin Solo)
Distorted Plainsong by Alex Watson (Unaccompanied Cello Solo)
Prisoners of Hope by Kian Ravaei (Unaccompanied Cello Solo)
A Dialogue by Rohan Srinivasan (Accompanied Cello Solo)