During the summer of 2020, the New York Staff Band launched its third Composer Contest and received over thirty pieces of music from composers all around the world.
During the initial reviewing period, a small committee reviewed each composition and a sound file to select three finalists that would be played by the New York Staff Band. Because the level of composition was so high this year that three slots for finalist was not quite enough. We were privileged to select five composers to reach the finals and have their piece played by the band and voted on by the members of the NYSB. Our finalists were:
Master of the Sea – Morgan Juel Stavik
Grace Revival – Zachery Doctor
The Conqueror – Marcus Venables
Anthem of the Ages – Harold Burgmayer
How Firm a Foundation
After a read through of the pieces, members of the New York Staff Band cast their vote for each of the pieces. In a tight race, we are pleased to announce that Marcus Venables and his piece, “The Conqueror” have been selected as the winner of the NYSB Composer Contest. His piece was met with much excitement and will be a welcome addition to the NYSB repertoire. “How Firm a Foundation” came in 2nd place.
On hearing the announcement, Marcus had this to say, “ I’d like to thank the New York Staff Band for once again hosting this competition. This initiative truly supports Salvationist composers from around the world by giving them the opportunity to have their music in front of great musicians. The NYSB continues to be a leader in supporting compositional development and am truly blessed to be associated with such a fine group of Salvationist musicians.”
Congratulations to all the composers that once again supported the NYSB Composer Contest and we look forward to having many more of these in the future.

NYSB Composer Contest 2020 – Notes by Dr. Dorothy Gates

THE CONQUEROR – Marcus Venables
What a great, exciting piece of music.  Marcus has good harmonic sense and language all his own.  The scoring is rich and robust.  Within the rich textures are some absolutely delicious moments that are well crafted and designed.  The music captures the listener’s attention taking them on a journey.  However, for my tastes, the journey of this piece had an element of wandering and lacked some clear direction until the last section, which by the way is simply superb.  Maybe that was Marcus’s intent that the “conqueror” had to overcome obstacles and the wandering represents the act of becoming.  Regardless the last section is indeed an exciting work of art.  It has shimmering textures and layers that leave the listener empowered to go out and conquer the world themselves.  Powerful music without a doubt!  This is authentic music that portrays what the title suggests!  Congratulations Marcus on a job very well done!!

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION
How Firm a Foundation is a fantastic piece of music.  It has a great harmonic sense and has the ability to write captivating transitions that propel the listener forward in the journey of the piece.  The scoring is beautiful.  The journey of the piece is high energy and fast-paced, filled with lots of anticipation and release, and effervescent with excitement.  This piece is authentic in every way in that it portrays what the title suggests.  The listener is left with an overwhelming confirmation of the hope and belief that yes indeed, how firm a foundation I have!

ANTHEM OF THE AGES – Harold Burgmayer
Anthem of the Ages is an incredible piece of music.  Harold’s sense of harmony is second to none.  His scoring of this work is scintillating and quite divine.  There are so many beautiful moments in this piece, majestic or otherwise which draw the listener right into God’s holy presence.   The journey and form of this work is complete.  It makes perfect musical sense.  For me it is a complete journey of holiness.  The listener is left with the awe and realization of having been in God’s presence.   Anthem of the Ages is worship music.  It is also soul music because it touches the depths of our being.

GRACE REVIVAL – Zachary Dochter
Grace Revival is beautifully written with great attention to detail.  The harmony is well structured and almost Copelandesque in its language.  There are some fabulous moments with delicate textures and lovely contrast with the “brights” and “mellows” within the brass band.  The piece makes good musical sense.  It takes the listener on an interesting journey.  I found the transitions between sections well written and believable.  However, for my tastes there was maybe one too many sections.  This made the proportions of the form of the piece a little askew and the overall journey a little less satisfying than it could be.

MASTER OF THE SEA – Morgan Juel Stavik
What a beautifully crafted piece of music!  Morgan has a great sense of harmony and its function.  His language in this piece reminds me of Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite, light and delicate and slightly mischievous!  The scoring is excellent, with beautifully constructed textures that are well thought out.  The journey of this piece is exciting and makes perfect sense.  However, for my tastes this piece feels like the first movement of something bigger.  I sense that Morgan has more to say.  Follow your heart Morgan with this piece and go where it takes you until there is no more.