Earlier in the month of October I entered my big band piece Bright Morning Star into the David P. and Susan W. Wohlhueter Jazz Composition Contest at Ithaca College. The call for scores was contengient on them being an alto saxophone solo feature, which would be performed by saxophonist Braxton Cook and the Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble. I just received the results of the contest and was informed that my piece had been selected by the benefactor of the contest, David Wohlhueter, as “his choice” piece, a sort of special benefactor’s award. 

Song On May Morning (Bright Morning Star), was commissioned by Micheal Stevens and the Anadarko High School Chorus for SATB a cappella chorus in 2013, and it was premiered by them in April 2013 in Anadarko, Oklahoma. The text is based on the John Milton poem of the same name, and in 2015 I transformed it into a big band chart and called it Bright Morning Star, which comes directly from the text. It was premiered on June 8, 2016, by Diane Moser’s Composer’s Big Band at Trumpets Jazz Club in Montclair, New Jersey. The version which has been awarded by the Ithaca College contest is a solo saxophone feature written specifically for Braxton Cook, the ICJE, and this contest.

THE WINNER

• That Familiar Connection, by Mike Caudill of Brighton, MA

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• The Daily Grind by Jon Gardner of Norristown, PA
• Union by Remy Le Boeuf of Brooklyn, NY 

DAVE’S CHOICE

• Bright Morning Star by Timothy Miller of Mahwah, NJ

What an honor and thrill it is to be recognized, not only by Dave, but also by the storied jazz program at Ithaca College. All of the winning pieces will be performed by Braxton Cook and The IC Jazz Ensemble on December 7, 2019 at Ithaca College in Upstate New York. The concert begins at 7:00 PM and will be live streamed at https://www.ithaca.edu/music/live/.