The 2003 Washington International Composerís Competition, sponsored by the FMMC Foundation, has culminated with the premiere performance of the 1st Prize-winning piece ìString Quartet No. 1,î by Peter Gilbert of Cambridge, MA, a doctorial candidate at Harvard University. The winning work was performed by the American Classics Quartet at a concert in the Terrace Theater of the J.F. Kennedy Center on Sunday, March 23, 2003. The composer was present to receive his Award of $5000, and to speak with the audience about his work.

The 2nd Prize Award was won by Sabang Cho of Seoul, Kore, currently a resident of Boston, MA, where she is a doctorial candidate at Boston University. Her work ìHeterophonic Circleî for String Trio, received a Prize of $2000. On the recommendation of the judges, an Honorable Mention was given to Vito Palumbo of Italy for his ìDeviazione Classica nel ìmeriggiare palledoÖ,î a work for string quartet.

The three judges for the competition were Dr. John Stephens, Chairman, Dr. John McGinn, Professor of Composition at Clark University in MA., and Dr. Lawrence Moss, Professor of Composition at the University of Maryland in College Park.

There were thirty-six scores submitted for the competition from many countries including: Israel, Korea, Bulgaria, Canada, Poland, Argentina, Australia, China, Belgium, Japan, Italy, and the U.S.A. Out of the 36 works, six were chosen as finalists: Brian Heller, of the U.S., for his ìDissolution for 12 Separate Strings;î Nicholas Vines of Australia, for his ìOceans of Coolî for Piano Quintet; Alejandra Rutty of Argentina, for his ìWitchcraft Recipes #6î for String Quartet; Sabang Cho of Korea, for her ìHeterophonic Circleî for String Trio; David Gilbert of the U.S., for his ìString Quartet No. 1;î Vito Palumbo of Italy, for this String Quartet ìDeviazione Classicaî. The judgesí decisions on the two winners and the Honorable Mention were unanimous and, because of the very high caliber of all the works submitted, the final selections occupied an extended amount of time on the part of all three judges.

Information prepared by John Stephens.