Gardner Laureates

Daniel Sabzghabaei, First Prize Winner – …under this blue of my land, for viola and voice
Score
Recording (Ledah Finck, viola, Emma Nicholson, voice)
Project page
Composer website

Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei ( دانیال†رضا†سبزقبایی†) is a creator who aims to emphasize the malleability of time and how we experience it, not just in the concert hall but in everyday life as well. His work has been presented and commissioned by organizations including: the JACK Quartet, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the New York Youth Symphony, National Sawdust, Intimacy of Creativity Festival, TAK Ensemble, Beth Morrison Projects, the New York Festival of Song, loadbang, bassist Robert Black, the Banff Centre, Contemporaneous, Guerilla Opera, the Moab Music Festival, [Switch~] Ensemble, the Young New Yorkers Chorus, Pro Coro Canada, The Esoterics, OPERA America, and VocalEssence among others. Daniel’s current research focuses on time and form within Persian moosiqi sonnati. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and the Peabody Conservatory and is currently a doctoral candidate and Sage Fellow at Cornell University. Outside of music and sound-based projects, Daniel also translates Persian poetry, most recently exploring the works of Hafez, Rumi, and Saadi. 

Deniz Çağlarcan, Second Prize Winner – Void, for viola and electronic media
Score
Recording (Deniz Çağlarcan, viola)
Project page
Composer website

Deniz Çağlarcan is a Los Angeles-based composer, violist, and conductor initially from Istanbul, Turkey. He investigates the sonic quality of electronic music by any means and realizes this idealized environment as a model for his musical language. Çağlarcan’s music explores the interaction between acoustic instruments and electronic sounds within their sonic morphology. Besides, he is intrigued to create an environment by utilizing various immersive audio technique as well as visuals and spatial elements that surround the audience. He performs interdisciplinary works collaborating with media artists, computer graphics developers, and machine learning engineers. His works include solo instrumental pieces, chamber music, large ensembles, tape/electroacoustic works, live-electronic, mixed works, audio/visual compositions, site-specific sound installations, arrangements as well as film and video games scores.

Besides his composition career as a violist, he performs in solo concerts, chamber music, new music ensembles, and popular music. He is a co-founder of the ADE Duo ensemble, where he released the rendition of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley in 2021. He studied orchestral conducting for over eight years, and at Central Michigan University, he continued very in-depth study with José-Luis Maúrtua. He holds degrees in Master of Music in Viola Performance from Central Michigan University and a Master of Arts in Composition from Bilkent University.

Çağlarcan is currently a Ph.D. student in Composition at the University of California Santa Barbara, studying with Professors João Pedro Oliveira and Curtis Roads. He has studied with notable composers and performers; Mark Andre, Beat Furrer, Bruno Mantovani, Ken Ueno, Pierluigi Billone, Clara Iannotta, Alberto Posadas, Isabel Mundry, UlrichmKreppein, Laura San Martin, Jay C. Batzner, Alicia Valoti, Sheila Browne, Scott Woolweaver, Yuri Gandelsman, Tatjana Masurenko, Walter Küssner, Hartmut Rohde, AlexanderZemtsov, Ulrich Mertin, Christine Rutledge.

Wajdi Abou Diab, Honorable Mention – The Moraba’ Dance, for solo viola
Recording (Noemi Chemaly, viola)
Composer website

Devin Cholodenko, Honorable Mention – Duo for Viola and Piano
Score
Recording
Composer website

Daniel Temkin, Honorable Mention – Unspoken, for solo viola
Recording (Ayane Kozasa, viola)
Composer website