Featured Compositions

2023 Compositions

‘Grapefruit’ by Jacob Howard-Taylor for Piano, Bass Guitar, Tambourine and Drum Kit 2nd Place: Any instrument or Combo 18 & Under

Jacob has been passionate about music since a young age. He is a multi-instrumentalist - his main instruments are piano, guitar, and drums. He is inspired by artists like Queen, David Bowie, and The Who. Jacob is 14 and lives in Brisbane, QLD. The UME panel love this funky, well structured composition, with a great grasp of jazz harmony and rhythmic complexities. You can listen to it here.

‘The Great Battle’ by Kemith Kalutara Winner: Piano Solo 12 & under

Kemith is 9 years old and lives in Rockhampton QLD. He submitted a terrific piece which really tells a story! Kemith says: ’The piece is about an army attacking a castle. The first part is when the battle begins. The first soft part is when night comes and they rest . Suddenly they get attacked and are forced to sneak inside the castle. They sneak around until they hear guards coming. They fight the guards and successfully escape.’ You can see Kemith’s composition here and you can hear it here.

‘The Aster’ by Andrew Dharma  1st Place: Piano Solo Ages 13-18

Andrew is 14 and lives in Sydney NSW. He has been composing for several years and has enjoyed hearing his works performed by various ensembles. Andrew plays piano and violin and has written pieces for string quartets, ensembles and solo works.

‘Aster’ was written in celebration of Andrew’s parents 20th wedding anniversary.
You can hear this impressive piece here.

‘Impromptus’ by Lachlan Brady 2nd Place: Piano Solo Ages 13-18

Lachlan lives in Perth WA and is 15 years old. He is an avid pianist and composer. His favourite composers are Scriabin, Liszt, Chopin, Schubert and Medtner. Lachlan enjoys analysing and playing their works. You can listen to his beautiful ‘Impromptus’ here.

‘It’s Snowing in the North Pole’ by Julia Rozenkova 1st Place: Song with Lyrics 18 & Under

Julia wrote a fantastic song with lyrics, notated it beautifully and then recorded herself playing, singing and accompanying herself on the trombone! The UME panel were impressed with the sophisticated chord progressions in her song. Julia is 12 and lives in Melbourne, VIC. You can watch Julia’s winning performance here.

‘Spirited’ for Violin and Piano by Andrew Dharma 1st place: Any Instrument or Combo 18 & Under

Andrew is 14 and lives in Sydney NSW. He says about this piece: ‘Spirited is a work characterised by its energy, vibrancy, intensity and vigour. This is evident through the musical terms Vivace, Agitato and Con Fuoco, which are expressed throughout the music. These attributes epitomise a broad range of experiences, emotions and thoughts, such as visualising a variegation of colours or a picturesque sunset. This piece is structured in ternary form dominated by the tonal centre of F# with interchangeable use of natural minor and Dorian mode. The abundant use of syncopation and irregular accents emphasises the various polyrhythms and drives the piece forward, alluding to the overall spirited nature of the work. Other notable features in the music include glissandi, artificial harmonics, dimuendos to silence and Bartok pizzicatos.’ The UME panel were impressed with Andrew’s sophisticated composition, which was beautifully notated. This recording is a computer generated performance: ‘Spirited’.

‘Field Wonder’ by Aaliiyah Arumugam 2nd place: Piano Solo 12 & under

Aaliiyah lives in Perth WA and is 12 years old. She wrote an atmospheric piece that impressed the UME panel. Aaliiyah says: ‘The Third Movement was the first piece composed, but it seemed unfinished and needed more. Over the last year, the First and Second movement were done. I want it to sound like it could be music in a fantasy videogame like ‘Zelda’ etc and could feel like we transported into the game.’ You can see all the details and the musical score here and you can Aaliiyah’s prize winning piece here.

‘A Lonesome Moon’ for Piano, Electric Bass and Drum Kit by Hwangsung Ryu Highly Commended: Any Instrument or Combo 18 & Under

Hwangsung is 17 years old and lives in Tucson AZ. He has been learning the piano for many years but it was when he started playing at his church that he began to understand chords and experiment with composition. Having written several short pieces for his friends to play at school, Hwangsung wrote ‘A Lovesome Moon’ - his first big work for a competition. The UME panel were really impressed with his understanding of the style and harmony of this genre. You can listen to Hwangsung’s piece here.

‘Hip Hip Hippo Horray’ by Elijah Pao 3rd place: Piano Solo 12 & under

Elijah wrote a fun piece using lots of black notes! Elijah is 10 and lives in Sydney NSW.
You can listen to ‘Hip Hip Hippo Horray’ here!

‘Static Electricity’ by Stephen Chen 1st Place: BlitzBooks Rote Repertoire Section 18 & under

The Blitzbooks section is a special opportunity for student to transform one of the ‘Rote Repertoire’ pieces by Samantha Coates into a work of their own! Stephen did a brilliant job of this, turning Samatha’s ‘Spy’ into ‘Static Electricity’. Stephen says: ‘I chose the new title ‘Static Electricity’ because the staccato and repeating patterns makes the piece sound very sparkling and gleaming with electricity.’ Stephen is 9 and lives in Sydney, NSW. You can watch his performance here.

‘Variance’ for String Quartet by Ren Cher Chia 3rd Place: Any Instrument or Combo 18 & Under

Ren Cher Chia lives in Singapore and is 17 years old. He has won many awards and scholarships for his compositions. This string quartet is a very advanced and comprehensive work featuring excellent string writing and techniques. It is in four movements. This performance is generated by computer: ‘Variance’

2022 Compositions

‘Burumurring’by Alexander Woodyatt Winner: Song with Lyrics 18 years and under

Alexander is 11 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. He submitted a beautifully notated score along with the recording of his song.

Here’s what Alexander wrote about his piece: ‘I wrote this piece during last year’s lockdown. We were not allowed to sing, and I missed it. ‘Burumurring’ is the Aboriginal indigenous name for the wedged- tail eagle, a symbol of our school and the name of our new playground. I wrote and recorded it using Garageband and I sang all the parts. I learnt to notate it this year using ‘Flat’.

‘Dancing with the Enemy’ by Reuben Durbach
2nd place: Song with Lyrics 18 years and under

Reuben is 11 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. This performance of his song, ‘Dancing with the Enemy’ features Reuben on both piano and vocals and was recorded live at a recent performance. The UME panel were impressed with the mature style of this composition. Look out for Reuben in coming years - he has lots of future potential as a singer / songwriter!

‘Unbalanced Harmony’ by Gary Koryukin
Winner: Composition for Piano Solo ages 13-18

Gary is 13 and lives in Queensland, Australia. Gary’s exciting piece, ‘Unbalanced Harmony’ was submitted with an accurately notated score and this terrific video of him performing his composition.

The UME judges were impressed with Gary’s creativity and use of such a fun time signature! We hope you enjoy Gary’s performance.

‘Magnifique’ by Delaney Lim
2nd place: Composition for Piano Solo ages 13-18

Delaney is 18 years old and lives in Colorado, USA. The UME judges were very impressed with Delaney’s piece, which has a secure grasp of harmony and was submitted with a beautifully notated score.

‘Royal Alarm’ by Reuben Winkler
Winner: Composition for Piano Solo 12 and under

Reuben is 11 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. His piano piece ‘Royal Alarm’ was accompanied by terrific notation.

Here’s what Reuben says about this composition: ‘This piece is about people sneaking around in a castle, trying to escape from guards. At some points, the guards see them. These are the loud bits. They set off alarms. On the last alarm, the people have to sprint out of the castle, chased by guards. They escape safely.

I was trying to write something similar to some improvisations I did on the piano in D minor, but it came out very differently. I wrote the first bit in the musescore software, then came back to it around a month later. I was experimenting with dynamics for this song. Royal Alarm is the third song of around forty that I have written so far.

‘Waltz’ by Julia Rozenkova
2nd place: Composition for piano Solo 12 and under

Julia is 11 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia. She began playing the piano at the age of 3 and is a very accomplished pianist as well as composer. Julia submitted two compositions in the ‘Piano Solo 12 years and under’ section: ‘Sonatina in F’ and ‘Waltz’, both of which were accompanied by beautifully detailed scores. We hope you enjoy ‘Waltz’ by Julia.

‘Mysterious Mission!’ by Connor Chapman
Winner: BlitzBooks Rote Repertoire Section

Connor is 9 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. For this section, entrants were instructed to perform one of Samantha Coates’ ‘BlitzBooks Rote Repertoire’ pieces, and then to create a variation / composition / entirely new piece inspired by the original. Connor did a wonderful job of meeting this brief and has created a terrific new piece entitled ‘Mysterious Mission!’. In this video you’ll see him play the original piece ‘Spy’, followed by his new creation. Connor was also awarded Highly Commended for his piece ‘The Fish Song’ in the ‘Composition for Piano Solo’ 12 and under section. Well done Connor!

‘Red Handed’ by Lachlan Brown
2nd place, BlitzBooks Rote Repertoire section

Lachlan is 11 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. Lachlan chose ‘Sneaky’ from the BlitzBooks Rote repertoire collection and turned it into a new piece called ‘Red Handed’. Lachlan also notated his piece and presented a beautiful score and made some notes about the new version. ‘Here are the techniques I used: Started off soft to emulate sneaking around. Added chords at the end of sections for emphasis. Added an ostinato in the left hand in the middle of the piece to add a sense of urgency when the sneaker hurries more, looking for something important. Changed the ending to describe being caught red-handed – loud dramatic ending. Short staccato notes and increase in volume towards the end for build-up of tension to suit the above ending.’

‘The Great Ocean’ by Andrew Dharma
Winner: Piece for Any Instrument or Combination of Instruments 18 and under

Andrew is 13 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. Andrew plays Violin and Piano and is also studying composition. He submitted an accurate score and made extensive notes on this comprehensive piece. The UME panel were impressed by the maturity and detail in the work. Andrew submitted 2 works in this section and his piece ‘The Lost’ for Violin and piano, was awarded 3rd place. Congratulations Andrew.

Andrew says: The Great Ocean (for string orchestra) represents an amazing journey in the ocean. It involves lots of variety, with modern compositional styles and

expression to represent the scenes or moods of each movement, from the wild nature of the current, to the exoticism of the seas, to the marvellous sights of the ocean.

The 1st movement, Facing the Current represents the mysteries of the ocean. It specifically explores the currents that swirl the water, fish and plants around as well as the unknown parts of the ocean. The use of tremolos, fastmoving semiquavers, accents, staccatos and slurs aims to capture the idea of the water flowing quickly. The slower sections attempt to create a sense of smoothness before water swirls rapidly. The overall mood for this piece is suspenseful and full of surprises.

The 2nd movement, Exoticism, Serenity and Beauty reflects on the areas of the ocean where it is peaceful, exotic, warm and sunny, like some calm tropical islands which are the most exotic places on Earth. The beauty of the sea is sometimes portrayed where there are loud, extremely expressive lyrical melodies. Some of this movement is in a state of calmness and there are some complex rhythms which represent some of the beautiful magical moments. This movement is highly articulated, has pizzicatos, harmonies including added 6th chords and lots of personal, evocative, song-like melodies.

The 3rd movement, Discoveries of the Great Ocean represents the fascinating intricacies of the ocean, like the picturesque coral reefs and thriving schools of fish. It is full of excitement and happiness, like the magnificent and mesmerising as the Great Barrier Reef. Trills, tremolos, staccatos, accents and interesting chords including the half diminished chord are used to capture the lively mood of this movement.

I. Facing the Current (3 mins) II. Exoticism, Serenity and Beauty (3 mins) III. Discoveries of the Great Ocean (3 mins)

‘Sheffield’ by Abhinav Ananth
2nd place: Piece for Any Instrument or Combination of Instruments 18 and under

Abhinav is 15 years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. He presented a well written score, an audio recording and a video of himself performing his piece for solo cello, ‘Sheffield’. Abhinav also entered the ‘Composition for Piano Solo’ section and his piece, ‘Presto in F Major’ was awarded Highly Commended. He plays a variety of instruments and also has a keen interest in musicology. Well done Abhinav.