2020-2021. III Edition

In this edition there was near one hundred works participating from almost one hundred countries, the jury resolution have been very dificult due the high quality of every work inscribed. The variety, the quantity and the procedence of these compositions continue demostrating that consonant music - the music which puts in consonance composer, performer and the audience - is now more than a trend isolated in the contemporary music but a reality inside all nowadays composition languages.

Composer Cum Laude and Best Work for Piano Trio
Andrea Montalbano, Italy
La camera incantata for Violin, Cello and Piano

Best Work for Clarinet Trio
Oliver Caplan, USA
In the Direction of Dreams for Clarinet, Cello and Piano

Best Work for Viola and Piano
Daniele Di Virgilio, Italy
Canti Della Nostalgia for Viola and Piano

Andrea Montalbano is 31 years old (Italy, 1990), started to study the clarinet at 12 and graduated
with honors at the Conservatory “A. Scontrino” of Trapani in 2009, in the clarinet class of
Giancarlo Lumetta.

In June 2011 Andrea has qualified as clarinet teacher at the Conservatory of music “G. B. Martini”
in Bologna and during the same period has started his composition activity, writing the first works.
In 2014 Andrea studied music composition for movie at Civic Music School “C. Abbado” in
Milan with Franco Piersanti and Sergio Miceli.

Andrea attended composition masterclasses with Joel Hoffman (“UPBEAT” International Summer
Music School – Croatia, 2015) and with Sidney Corbett and Alessio Elia (Master class in
composition promoted by “She lives”, music association – Budapest, 2018).
As clarinet player, Andrea is active in classical, jazz and contemporary music, and collaborated
with many composers and musicians to play premieres.
Andrea's compositions have been awarded in national and international composer competitions, and
have been performed in many events and festivals.

His work “Mirage” (for string quartet) is published by Bèrben - edizioni musicali, and “Su Monte
Mario” (for mixed choir), with text by Giosuè Carducci, was recorded by Coro Volante, conducted
by Brett Scott, and published on “New Choral Voices, vol. 3” by Ablaze Records.

Andrea is clarinet teacher in the Middle School since 2014.

Award-winning American composer Oliver Caplan writes melodies that nourish our souls,
offering a voice of hope in an uncertain world. Inspired by the resiliency of the human spirit
and beauty of the natural world, his music celebrates stories of social justice, conservation
and community.

Mr. Caplan’s works have been performed in over 200 performances nationwide. He has been
commissioned by the Atlanta Chamber Players, Bella Piano Trio, Bronx Arts Ensemble,
Brookline Symphony Orchestra, Columbia University Wind Ensemble and New Hampshire
Master Chorale, among others. Winner of a Special Citation for the American Prize in
Orchestral Composition, additional recognitions include two Veridian Symphony
Competition Wins, the Fifth House Ensemble Competition Grand Prize, eight ASCAP
Awards, and fellowships at Ragdale, VCCA and the Brush Creek Foundation. Recordings of
Mr. Caplan’s music include his 2017 release You Are Not Alone, which has been featured on
Apple Music’s Classical A-list and streamed over 200,000 times; 2012 debut album
Illuminations; and tracks on Trio Siciliano’s Exploring Music (2018, U07 Records) and the
Sinfonietta of Riverdale’s New World Serenade (2016, Albany Records).

A leader in the field of contemporary classical music, Mr. Caplan is the Artistic Director of
Juventas New Music Ensemble, the only professional ensemble of its kind devoted
specifically to the music of emerging composers. During the first two years of his tenure, the
ensemble’s audience has grown six-fold. Mr. Caplan holds degrees from Dartmouth College
and the Boston Conservatory, is a voting member of the Recording Academy, and resides in
Medford, Massachusetts.

Daniele Di Virgilio (Italy. 1990) graduated in Composition and Orchestral Conducting at "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory in Torino, in Cinema, Arts, Music and Media at Torino University.

He gained recognition both in the academic field (he won the Giorgio Federico Ghedini scholarship in 2016 as best student in composition classes at Torino Conservatory) and in national and international competitions, such as all the awards during the first edition of the international competition "Michele Novaro" also sponsored by the Deputy Chamber. Awarded by Krzysztof Penderecki, Fabio Vacchi, Andrea Lucchesini, Luca Lombardi and Roberto Prosseda, he got his compositions published by Simon Verlag BW and Casa Musicale Sonzogno.

2020-2021. III Edition

Cum Laude Music Awards

Premiering, Performing, Recording and Broadcasting New Music for a New Audience