The UW School of Music was well represented among winners of the 2016 American Prize, with several current and former faculty and students of the school’s conducting programs recognized for outstanding conducting, and programming of school and professional ensembles.
UW Symphony Orchestra director David Alexander Rahbee was awarded second place in the programming category of the College/University Orchestra Division for the UW Symphony’s 2015-16 season.
Mark Tse, a graduate wind conducting student, earned an honorable mention in the wind conducting category for his work with the UW Wind Ensemble and a third place in conducting, Community/School division of the wind conducting category, for his leadership of the UW Concert Band.
Choral conducting alums Jeremiah Selvey and Wendy Moy took first and third place, respectively, in the professional chorus division for their work with Chorosynthesis, a professional choir they co-founded that performs and commissions socially relevant repertoire.
Anna Edwards, alumna of the doctoral program in orchestral conducting at the UW, earned a third-place award in the professional division in the Performance of American Music category for her work with the Saratoga Orchestra of Whidbey Island, Wash, specifically a recorded performance of composer Tim Huling’s The American Northwest—A Concerto for Harp and Clarinet.
Administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Danbury, Connecticut, The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually, providing cash awards, professional adjudication, and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances in the nation by ensembles and individuals at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels.