Classical music fans, remember this name. Charles Zoll, a senior at the University of Arizona, has taken top prize in the 2012 national Rapido! Composition Contest. The annual competition has its origins in Atlanta and invites composers of all ages to submit short original chamber music compositions, using instrumentation and traditional form.
Zoll, 21, won a $7,500 commission for an original orchestral composition to be debuted by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra next spring. He will also expand his winning chamber piece, Bailes encima del escritorio de nuestra juventud, into a 15-minute work that will be presented in the fall by five ensembles: the Atlanta Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva, Fifth House Ensemble of Chicago, Voices of Change in Dallas and San Francisco’s Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. In addition, Zoll will participate in a two-week residency at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts in Georgia.
The contest accepts submissions from a maximum of 100 entrants each from five geographical regions in the United States. A panel of judges whittled down 2012’s 400-plus hopefuls to 15 semifinalists who competed in a National Finals Concert, judged by ASO music director Robert Spano and Atlanta School of Composers members Jennifer Higdon and Michael Gandolfi.
Rapido! was launched in 2008 by the Atlanta Chamber Players and the Antinori Foundation to promote fresh chamber music compositions and encourage new works by under-represented composers.
