Composers at Penn State are regularly recognized by organizations, festivals, conferences, and ensemble around the world. With performances and presentations throughout the United States and abroad, students enjoy engaging in our field on an international stage. Below is a listing of select Penn State Composition Students’ recognition from recent years.
Penn State Composers, External Student Recognition (external juried selections):
2023-2024
- Selected Composer, 2024, Violet Burney (BM ’25), Screen Music Program (Pavia, Italy)
- Selected Composer, 2024, Isaac Bolan (BM ’27), Summer Composition Intensive at St. Mary’s
- Selected Composer, 2024, Han Hitchen (MM ’24), June in Buffalo
- Artist in Residence, 2024, Han Hitchen (MM ’24) and Gabriel Gekoskie (MM ’25), Catwalk Artist Residency
- Selected Composer, 2024, Nicholas Amberg (BM ’27), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival
- Selected Composer, 2024, Gabriel L. Newvine (MM ’25), ICEBERG Institute
- Selected Composers, 2024, Dermott Breault (BM ’26), Jessica Dragan (BM ’26), and Gabriel Gekoskie (MM ’25), Longy Divergent Studio
- Selected Composer, 2024, Violet Burney (BM ’25) and Nalah Palmer (BM ’25), Valencia International Performing Arts Festival (Spain)
- Selected Composer, 2023, Han Hitchen (MM ’24), International Exhibition of Electroacoustic Music (MUSLAB)
- Selected Composer, 2023, Han Hitchen (MM ’24), New Music Mosaic’s Timbre Vol. 3
- Selected Composer, 2023, Gabriel L. Newvine (MM ’25), Valencia International Performing Arts Composition Workshop
- Composition Fellow, 2023, Gabriel Gekoskie (MM ’25), Cortona Sessions for New Music (Cortona, Italy)
2022-2023
- Selected Composer, 2023, Joshua Mallard (MM ’23), UNK New Music Festival (Kearney, Nebraska)
- Selected Composers, 2023, Connor Simpson (BM ’23), Austin White (BM ’23), Mel Falcon, Travis Hahn (BM ’26), Gabriel Newvine (PPC ’23), Bri Wiegand (PPC ’22), Longy Divergent Studio
- 2nd place, 2023, Gabriel Newvine (PPC ’23), International Tuba and Euphonium Association’s Intermediate Solo with Piano composition competition
- Selected Composer, 2022, Joshua Mallard (MM ’23), Electronic Music Midwest
- Selected Composer, 2023, Jody Goodhart (BM ’23), Dr. Beth Ratay Art Song Call for Scores
- Recipient, 2022, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Global Excellence Scholarship, University College Dublin
- Selected Composer, 2022, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Source Song Festival
- Recipient, 2022, Micah Mooney (MM ’23), Mini Grant for Career Development (Impulse New Music Festival)
- Selected Composers, 2022, Jody Goodhart (BM ’23) and Micah Mooney (MM ’23), Impulse New Music Festival
- Selected Composer, 2022, Jody Goodhart (BM ’23), Longy Divergent Studio
- Selected Composers, 2022, Austin White (BM ’23) and Connor Simpson (BM ’23), SoundSCAPE New Music Festival (Bobbio, Italy)
- Selected Composer, 2022, Emily McPherson (MM ’22), 2022 Festival of Contemporary Art Music at Washington State University
- Selected Composer, 2022, Austin White (BM ’23), Iceberg Institute (Vienna, Austria)
- Selected Composer, 2022, Brian Ellis (BM ’24), East Chamber’s Emerging Composer Festival
- Selected Composer, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Composing in the Wilderness Backpacking Trip
- Intern, 2022, Han Hitchen (MM ’24), Boulanger Initiative
2021-2022
- Selected Composer, 2022, Joshua Mallard (MM ’23), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival
- Selected Composer, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), National Student Electronic Music Event
- Selected Composer, 2021, Micah Mooney (MM’23), Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival
- Winner, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Pennsylvania Chamber Winds Call for Scores
- Selected Composer, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Young Women Composers Camp
- Selected Composers, 2021, Emily McPherson (MM ’22) and Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Alba Music Festival Composition Program (Alba, Italy)
- Selected Composer, 2021, Micah Mooney (MM ’23), University of North Georgia Research on Contemporary Composition
- Selected Composer, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Screen Music Program
- Selected Composer, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), SPLICE Institute
- Selected Composer, 2021, Emily McPherson (MM ’22), Performing Media Festival [PMF ~ 2021] (Indiana University South Bend)
- Selected Composer, 2021, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Really Spicy Opera’s Libretto Workshop
- Selected Composers, 2021, Micah Mooney (MM ’23), Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Bee Mikesell (MM ’22), Austin White (BM ’23), Abbigail Adams (BM ’24), Longy Divergent Studio
2020-2021
- Finalist, 2020, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), International Composition Competition- Electronic & Electroacoustic Vol. 1 – Sound Silence Thought
- Winner, 2020, Emily McPherson (MM ’22), Sound Silence Thought – International Composition Competition
- Winner, 2020, Micah Mooney (MA ’22), NOUS Recordings – Call for Piano Works
- Selected Composer, 2020, Connor Simpson (BM ’23), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival
- Selected Composers, 2020, Leah Mullen (BM ’22) and Austin White (BM ’23), Charlotte New Music Festival
- Selected Composer, 2020, Emily McPherson (MM ’22), Research on Contemporary Composition Conference
- Selected Composer, 2020, Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Moreau VanTuinen Duo Call for Miniatures
Penn State Composers, Internal Student Recognition (internal juried selections):
Mark Ballora and Wang Award for Technological Creativity
- 2024: Violet Burney (BM ’25) & Gabriel Gekoskie (MM ’25)
- 2023: Mel Falcon
- 2022: Joshua Mallard (MM ’23)
- 2021: Emily McPherson (MM ’22)
- 2020: Brianna Wiegand (BA ’21)
Burt L. Fenner Scholarship in Music Composition
- 2024/25: Jessica Dragan (BM ’26)
- 2023/24: Mel Falcon
- 2022/23: Austin White & Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
- 2021/2022: Abigail Adams, Austin White, & Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
- 2020/2021: Tucker Johnson (BM ’21)
- 2019/2020: Tucker Johnson (BM ’21)
Penn State Ensemble Call for Scores: Symphonic Winds
- 2023/24: Gabriel L. Newvine (MM ’25)
- 2022/23: Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
- 2021/22: Joshua Mallard (MM ’23)
- 2020/21: Bee Mikesell (MM ’22)
Penn State Ensemble Call for Scores: Orchestra
- 2022/23: Joshua Mallard (MM ’23) & Bee Mikesell (PPC ’23)
- 2021/22: Han Hitchen (MM ’24)
Penn State Ensemble Call for Scores: Percussion Ensemble
- 2023/24: Han Hitchen (MM ’24) & Jessica Dragan (BM ’26)
- 2022/23: Violet Burney (BM ’25)
- 2021/22: Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
Presser Scholarship Award
- 2023: Mel Falcon
Penn State Creative Achievement Award
- 2024: Han Hitchen (MM ’24)
- 2023: Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
- 2022: Leah Mullen (BM ’22) & Emily McPherson (MM ’22)
Marjorie Jane Brewster Memorial Scholarship
- 2023: Austin White (BM ’23), first alternate
- 2022: Leah Mullen (BM ’22), first alternate
- 2021: Tucker Johnson (BM ’21), winner
Eleanor Beene Scholarship Award
- 2024 Violet Burney (BM ’25)
- 2021: Leah Mullen (BM ’22)
Valley Family Scholarship
- 2024: Violet Burney (BM ’25)
- 2023: Mel Falcon
- 2022: Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
- 2021: Leah Mullen (BM ’22)
Lambda Alumni Interest Group Scholarship
- 2024: Han Hitchen (MM ’24)
Peter T. Lucky Research Award in Arts and Humanities
- 2020: Tucker Johnson (BM ’21)
Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition in the Arts and Humanities Division
- 2022: Leah Mullen (BM ’22)
Artist in Residence, The Learning Factory
- 2023: Gabriel Gekoskie (MM ’25)
Erickson Discovery Grant
- 2022: Austin White (BM ’23)
Student Engagement Network (SEN) Grant
- 2023: Travis Hahn (BM ’26)
- 2023: Mel Falcon
- 2021: Connor Simpson (BM ’23)
- 2021: Austin White (BM ’23)
Other Internal Awards:
- Selected Composers, 2020, Brianna Wiegand (BA ’21) & Leah Mullen (BM ’22), Penn State Dance Program call for original music.
- Winner, 2020, Connor Simpson (BM ’23), Theme Music Contest for Dean Carpenter’s Movers, Shakers, Designers, Makers video series