Julie Harris – La Premiere

I had never entered a composition competition before in my entire life.

I have been composing since I was a little kid.  I “wrote” my first piece at age six, although I didn’t have the skills to write it down.  I majored in composition in college and duly received the coveted piece of paper saying that I now had a degree in composition.  I got a lot of great commissions that allowed me to write pieces for solo flute, flute and piano and one piece for more than a dozen flute students with various levels of expertise.   I was commissioned to write virtuoso piano solos which were premiered and performed in the United States and Europe; a set of these piano solos was later recorded on a very lovely CD.  I wrote art songs, chamber music, and solos for various instruments.  Chamber groups hired me to write arrangements ranging from new harmonies for hymn tunes to “Highland Cathedral” for bagpipe, pipe organ and string quartet.

Somehow, in spite of all the dedicated composing and enjoyable collaborating, I was eventually drawn more to teaching than to composing.  I found it infinitely more exciting to teach and encourage and showcase talented young composers than to sell my own wares in the music marketplace.  I read all about Nadia Boulanger, the legendary composition teacher.  I even felt inspired to write an article about her and her hugely talented sister Lili:  Two Sisters – Nadia and Lili Boulanger.  I identified more with Nadia, the teacher, than with Lili, the composer.

My students entered umpteen composition competitions.  Some had exhilarating experiences, some were deeply disheartened.  One student even dropped out of competitions altogether because of the less than enlightened and far from helpful comments he received.  There were times we all considered forgoing all future competitions, but each time we rallied and decided to find or create the most exciting, rewarding competitions possible!