benjamin barish, nyack, new york, usa

Ben Barish is an eleven-year-old pianist, violinist, and guitarist from New York. He hopes to one day become a composer and a music historian. This year, Ben is a first - place winner of the International Smederevo Composition Competition, a first place winner in the New York NFMC Composition Competition, and a finalist in the MTG song-writing contest, judged by Soomin Kim and Daniel Felsenfeld from the Juilliard School of Music. He is also very excited to add that his composition titled "Vulnerable" will be played this year by the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in New York City. He is so grateful to the Marvin Hamlisch awards committee for this opportunity and honor.

MADDY CHASSAR HESKETH, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

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Maddy Chassar Hesketh is a 17-year-old composer and musician from Shropshire, UK. At the age of 4, she took up piano lesson and began writing music from an early age. After winning BBC Young Composer in 2019, so many opportunities arose for her to study with and write music for professional composers and musicians. Her work has been performed in venues such as the Royal Academy of Arts, Stonehenge, the CBSO Centre, Royal College of Music, The Purcell School, The Edward Elgar Museum, BBC Maida Vale Studios, Watford Colosseum and most recently Wigmore Hall. She was also highly commended in the BBC Young Composers Competition and won again in 2021, resulting in a commission from the BBC Concert Orchestra, which is due to be played in July 2022 in London.

annika joshi, johns creek, georgia, usa

Annika Joshi, an 11th grader, is a composer and pianist. Annika is passionate about composing and is currently studying music composition with Julie Harris, through the Harmonia composition studio. She attended the High School Composition Intensive at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she worked with several professors. She has won several competitions, including the Golden Key International Piano Composition Contest, the Gonzaga National Composition Competition, and the Georgia MTNA Composition Competition. Recently, her work “The Expanse” was premiered by the Carroll Symphony Orchestra at their Valentine’s Masterworks Concert.

alexander moiseev, cary, north carolina, usa

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Alexander Moiseev is a rising freshman pursuing a BM in music composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music! Being a pianist/percussionist, he has worked with the Triangle Youth Philharmonic (Raleigh, NC) on many fronts– conducting his own works, soloing as a pianist, and performing as principal timpanist. As a composer, he is a national placeholder in the MTNA Composition Competition. Alex really looks forward to continuing his composing endeavors!

daniel pengelly, surrey, united kingdom

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Daniel Pengelly is a 17 year old flautist and composer. He is a Haynes Flutes Young Artist, and has been selected as a Junior Artist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for 2022/23. A member of the internationally renowned Hallé Youth Orchestra, he has also enjoyed many successes in local, national and international competitions as a solo performer, including winning the British Flute Society Young Performer competition in 2020. 

A keen composer, Daniel was shortlisted for the BBC Proms Composition Competition, and recently performed his own composition as a finalist in the concerto competition at Chethams School of Music. Daniel was selected as part of the film group at Sound and Music’s Summer School for Young Composers this year, where he was delighted to be able to learn from Aidan Goetzee. 

Currently studying at Chethams, he takes joint first studies of composition and the flute. As well as his flute LTCL, he has also achieved Distinction at Grade 8 on both piano and recorder, and he is currently applying for conservatoire entry next year.