2024 Compositions (11th Annual Youth Composition Competition) - Age 10 to 14 Entries

Judges are Andrew Sigler and Jacky Liu

First Place - Hudson Dong Second Place - Oskar Culver

See Student Composition entries listed in alphabetic order for ages 10 - 14 below.

Youth Compositions : ages 15 and 16 HERE, and for ages 17/18 HERE.

A note from Becky Chaffee, MusicTeacherGifts.com Owner and Creator: All these students are very talented. They have different amounts of experience and instruction. No one should be discouraged if they don’t “place”. This competition is meant to encourage the students. Many tell me, they enjoy seeing each others work for inspiration. (Most of the student entries are presented below, or on the pages noted for their age group - scroll down).

Both experienced young composers and composers with little or no instruction are comfortable entering this competition. I think the most important part of this is the judges’ feedback to fuel future work for each student. In addition, it is great for the students to see what others are creating. The judges and I also love to hear the student work.

This competition was created by myself, Becky, through my music gift shop, MusicTeacherGifts.com. I create everything sold on this website, and hope that you will purchase gifts here for your teachers and friends to help support this project. My time is volunteer work. There are many, many unseen hours that I pour into this competition in addition to finding the wonderful volunteer judges, and donating the prize money with the help of Performers Music of Chicago and SheetMusicPlus.com. Please look up the work of the amazing judges here, and give our sponsors your business. Thank you.

Medhanshi Bhowmick, “Dreamland”

My name is Medhanshi Bhowmick and I live in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. I have developed many hobbies such as art, tennis, swimming, and my favorite, the piano. I have been learning to play the piano since I was five years old and I continue to learn and grow under the guidance of my amazing teacher, Charisse Nocera. This year I have pushed my own boundaries and composed a piece inspired by Alice in Wonderland. This piece starts with a young girl falling asleep and slowly drifting off into a dream, which quickly turns into a horrific nightmare. But, she slowly finds her way back into the dream and is woken up by her alarm clock. I loved composing this piece and I can’t wait to create more of my own music! 

Alexander Bubenik, “Dancing to the End”

Oskar Culver, Symphony No. 1 in B Major

Oskar Culver is 13 years old and in 7th grade. He began playing cello at the age of 9, clarinet at 10, and he first started composing music at age 11. He studies composition and arrangement with Nate Sparks, Composer/Musician and Director of the Des Moines Youth Jazz Orchestra, clarinet with Jeff Kane, Musician and Founder of NoLA Jazz Band, and cello with Michael Terrell, Orchestra teacher at West Des Moines Community School District.

Oskar performs with the Des Moines Youth Symphony Academy, the Indian Hills Jazz Band and Chamber Orchestra, and the Cello Studio, led by Michael Terrell. In 2023, he was awarded first place in the Morningside Harmonium Composition Contest for his piece “Castle Siege” where his song was performed during the Morningside spring concert. He also performed in a master class with violinist Kevin Zhu. Oskar enjoys hiking, running and working through math challenges.

Hudson Dong, “Flow”

Leonardo Lu, “Summer in Hokkaido”

Leonardo Lu is a sixth-grader living in Granger, Indiana. He started to play piano when he was three and started to learn violin at age six. He also joins band at his school, playing marimba and snare drum. He started to compose music after taking an online music composition course last summer. In his spare time, he likes to read and play tennis.

Yifan Qiu, “Expedition to Mars”

Allison Yang, “The Odd One”

Brianna Yang, “Ocean Waves”