February 20, 2023
DMA Student, Choongwoo “Steve” Ko placed first in the American Choral Directors Association Composition ‘Focus Prize’ Competition for his score “A Thousand Winds” arranged for Tenor & Bass Chorus and premiered by the University Tenor-Bass Chorus in the Fall of 2022. Ko’s compositions are largely inspired by his bi-culturalism as a Korean-American. “A Thousand Winds” is scored for Tenor-Bass Chorus, Piano, and optional Rainstick and incorporates portions of the text written by Mary Elizabeth Frye, “Do not stand at my grave.”
The ACDA Composition Focus Prize is a new initiative structured to meet identified gaps in repertoire needs of ACDA members and their ensembles. The specific type of repertoire in the call varies from year to year; this inaugural call was for compositions Treble Choirs and Tenor/Bass Choirs. The 2023 contest drew hundreds of applicants from the United States and abroad and was evaluated by a panel of six experts in each category. This initiative was supported by choral music publishers Afred Music, Beckenhorst Press, ECS Publishing House, Fred Bock Publishing, and Walton/GIA Publishers.