Thank you for your submissions and support for my project!

Your First CD! -Call for Scores (Piano)- was open from May 30 until July 7, 2020.
Despite the short application period, I received 83 submissions and total 111 pieces from 32 countries. These five composers were selected for their distinct voices.
I am very excited to get to know them and work closely with them!

Selected Composers

Amer Ali (Syria) – “Banêb Tenhatiyê Şûmin” (2016)
Candra Bangun Setyawan (Indonesia) – “Brandal Loka Jaya” (2020)
Jieun Jeong (South Korea) – “4 kurze Stücke” (2017)
Todd Tarantino (USA) – “Smoke and Mirrors” (2006)
Uğurcan Kurt (Turkey) – “Music for Dead Dogs” (2017)
*first name alphabetical order

In addition to these five works, I will record “Islas Migrantes” by the Berlin-based Mexican composer Marisol Jiménez. The details of the CD project will be announced shortly.

Composer Biography

Amer Ali (Syria)

Amer Ali (b. 1990) is a Syrian Kurdish composerwhose music focuses on extremes of density and displays the potential energy of the performers by considering the physiological anatomy as an essential element in the composition process.
His music is characterized by pressure,stuttering,helplessness and energetic.

Candra Bangun Setyawan (Indonesia)

Candra Bangun Setyawan was born in Jombang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Candra is a young composer and music educator. He is a graduate alumni at Malang State University with a focus on music education and pursuing his master’s degree at the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta under the guidance of Professor Djohan Salim. Candra began studying music composition under the guidance of Diecky K. Indrapraja, electronic music with Tony Maryana, music theory with Dr. Royke B. Koapaha. Candrs is currently conducting research on the art and culture of music with a focus on innovating learning models for music composition in senior high school in Indonesia. WEBSITE

Jieun Jeong (South Korea)

Born in 1992 in South Korea, Jieun Jeong studied composition (BA) at Hochschule für Musik Saar with Arnulf Herrmann. Currently she is pursuing her Master’s degree at the same University. She has collaborated with renowned Ensembles, including Ensemble Adapter, Ensemble Divertimento, Ensemble Zafraa and with a member of the Ensemble l’Itinéraire. Through masterclasses, lectures and private lessons, she has also had the chance to work with Stefano Gervasoni, Liza Lim, Franck Bedrossian, Dieter Ammann, Stefan Prins and Helmut Lachenmann. SOUNDCLOUD

Todd Tarantino (USA)

Todd Tarantino (b. 1974) is a New York City-based composer, administrator, and educator. From 2012 to 2019 he served as the Director of MATA, a leading presenter of new music, guiding its global expansion and providing opportunities to countless composers, performers, and ensembles.

Tarantino’s music takes its energy from urban environments, particularly in the developing world, and is personal, richly varied, and characterized by bold surfaces. Critic George Grella described his …all words are already decided, as “tense quarter-tone intervals, through a stormy piano solo, to a delicate and almost wistful consonance… a fascinating expression of ambivalence about tonal harmony.”

Tarantino’s music has been presented at concerts and festivals worldwide by leading musicians and ensembles, including Talea Ensemble, Curious Chamber Players, the New York New Music Ensemble, Ensemble Moderne Akademie, OCNM Ensemble, violinists Miranda Cuckson and David Fulmer, clarinetist Carol McGonnel, and countless others. He holds degrees from Columbia University, New England Conservatory, and Bennington College and taught music history, all levels of music theory, and aural skills at Columbia University and Manhattan School of Music. Tarantino lives in Harlem, New York and performs regularly on the organ and piano and as a singer in the New York metropolitan region. WEBSITE

Uğurcan Kurt (Turkey)

Uğurcan Kurt was born in Kocaeli, Turkey. He started playing the piano at the age of seven. After he began his study at Kocaeli Anatolian Fine Art High School, he started composing music. During his Bachelor’s degree, he began composition studies with the Turkish composer Mehmet Ali Uzunselvi. After he earned the composition degree from Kocaeli University State Conservatory, he started to teach composition, harmony, and counterpoint at the same university. He was accepted at Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University Center of Advanced Studies in Music and he is currently writing his thesis, titled ‘’Investigetion of the Effect of Bela Bartok’s compositional identity on editorial awareness through Bach ‘Well Tempered Klavier’ at Yildiz Technical University Department of Music And Performing Arts with Koray Sazlı. He also writes theatre music for Universities and music festivals such as Composers Cauldren. He worked as a consultant for Classic Pure Vienna international Composition Competition in 2018. In 2019 he won the second prize at Pancho Vladigerov piano composition contest. He teaches music and gives concerts in the contemporary and postmodern genres and plays with jazz bands in Turkey. Uğurcan is also interested in Turkish makam music.