Wang Jie Wins ACO’s 2009 Underwood Commission
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Composer Wang Jie has been named the winner of the American Composers Orchestra’s 2009 Underwood Emerging Composers Commission, bringing her a $15,000 commission for a work to be premiered by ACO’s Orchestra Underground. Chosen from among five finalists, Wang won the top prize at ACO’s annual Underwood New Music Readings with her work Symphony No. 1, (Awakening).
Wang Jie was born and raised in Shanghai. In 2000, she moved to the United States to begin composition studies at the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her master’s in composition, graduating with honors in May 2007. She recently received a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Richard Danielpour.
Wang describes Symphony No. 1, (Awakening), as her most personal work, a journey from yearning and tempest to peace. John Corigliano, one of the mentor composers for the 2009 Underwood New Music Readings, remarked about the work, “Wang Jie’s piece is gorgeously written. She knows how to take a few notes and spin them into a large form—a rare trait in today’s composers. I can’t wait to hear what she does next.” (—Condensed from the press release)