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This past year's Grand Prize winner from Maryland, Mark E. Wilson, arrived in London to have his composition, The Phoenix Rising, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios (entrance pictured at left), conducted by the co-founder of NOTION Music, Dr. Jack Jarrett.
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In the control room of cavernous Studio One, Mark E. Wilson sat at the massive mixing board beside veteran engineer Jonathan Allen. Out in the studio, Dr. Jarrett conducted the London Symphony Orchestra through rehearsal and recording.
 According to Mark Wilson, "The London Symphony Orchestra's level of professionalism was remarkable. They seemed to instantly understand the work and most sections of the piece were on target after the second take!"
Jack Jarrett adds, "This was a really great piece of music: well thought out; well orchestrated. Also, one of the most difficult pieces I ever had to conduct." Also, several members of the orchestra commented on how much fun the piece was to play.
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Here is Mark's prize-winning piece, The Phoenix Rising, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Based on the legendary bird that is cyclically reborn out of fire, this movement depicts the mythological bird's glorious rise from its own ashes. The dramatic aspects of the piece center around ideas of regeneration springing from moments of crisis.
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The Phoenix Rising by Mark Edwards Wilson
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Used with the permission of the composer. No part of this selection may be duplicated or reproduced without the prior written consent of Mark Edwards Wilson.
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 Earlier that weekend, immediately before a concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, Mark Wilson formally received recognition for his achievement in the main foyer at London's Barbican Centre. Dr. Jarrett presented Dr. Wilson with a trophy – along with an address from Jack and the orchestra's Chairman of the Board of Directors, Lennox Mackenzie. Afterwards, all went inside to enjoy the night's concert that included a Liszt piano concerto and Dvorak's Ninth Symphony.
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 Commenting on Mark and his winning composition, judge John Corigliano wrote, "Excellent piece. It really develops its materials and has a fine, large shape. I felt a true symphonic mind at work. Beautiful orchestration, too. Bravo!"
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NOTION Music is currently considering ways to broaden the Challenge in the future with a few changes, such as fine-tuning the Runner-up prizes and re-naming this annual contest as the NOTION Music Challenge. Do you have a recommendation we can consider on how we can make the next Challenge better than ever? If so, drop us an email at rmc@notionmusic.com (due to the anticipated volume of emails, we will not be able to reply to each one). In the meantime, keep an eye on the Contest area of notionmusic.com and in NOTION Music's VIBRATO newsletter for announcements about the Challenge in 2009-2010. |
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