White a finalist for The American Prize in Composition

calendar icon07 Jul 2014    

Tyler White, professor of composition and conducting and Director of Orchestras in the Glenn Korff School of Music, is one of eight finalists for The American Prize (TAP) in Composition in opera/theater/film in 2014 for his opera, “O Pioneers!”

Winners for the prize will be selected in July or August.

TAP celebrates American excellence in the performing arts and sponsors a series of annual, national, non-profit competitions, selecting the best recorded performances of music in the United States by individuals and ensembles at professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels. TAP provides cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition to composers, conductors, ensembles, vocalists, pianists, chamber musicians and stage directors.

Set against the panoramic sweep of the southern Nebraska prairie, "O Pioneers!" tells the story of Alexandra Bergson, a fiercely independent landowner whose devotion to her land and its promise may cost her the love of her life. White and Director of Opera and Hixson-Lied Professor of Voice William Shomos wanted to collaborate on a new work in 1999. Commissioned by the School of Music, "O Pioneers!" was the first opera composed by White and the first operatic treatment of a full-length Cather novel.

He revised it again in 2006, and it was performed again by UNL's opera program in 2012.

In March, White won a silver medal in composition in the Global Music Awards for “O Pioneers!”

The American Prize has awarded more than $25,000 in all categories since 2010, and has welcomed applications from 46 U.S. states and from American citizens living throughout the world. Complete information about the competitions is available at the website theamericanprize.org. Recent winners and additional information can be found on their blog at theamercianprize.blogspot.com.