The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the Connecticut Young Composers' Project with Augusta Read Thomas, a two year endeavor which will pair ten aspiring Connecticut composers with one of the most honored composers of our time.

Over the course of two years (Fall 2009 to Spring 2011), ten young composers will meet with Ms. Thomas three times a year for interactive composing sessions. After two years, the students will each have a composition premiered by the New Haven Symphony Contemporary Music Group. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for a young composer.

Augusta Read Thomas (b.1964) is one of the most honored American composers of her generation. Her orchestral compositions have been performed by the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, to mention only a few.

Ms. Thomas studied composition at Tanglewood, Yale, and the Royal Academy of Music in London. She was Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1997—2006). She has taught at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago. In 2006, she resigned from teaching to devote herself entirely to composition and, in 2007; her Astral Canticle was one of two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Her discography includes 43 commercially recorded CDs.

Applications:
Applicants must be high school age composition students willing to commit to a two year program. (Regrettably, high school seniors are disqualified due to the two year commitment.) Composers must submit the following:
· two manuscripts of complete and contrasting works, with recordings if available,
· a list of performances that their work has received,
· a short essay (250 words or less) detailing why they wish to participate,
· a list of the instruments they play and ensembles they perform with,
· the name and contact information of their composition teacher.

Please download the application and mail it by September 15th to:

New Haven Symphony Orchestra
Attn: Hauk Graham
PO Box 9718
New Haven, CT 06536