ST. LOUIS, MO (January 30, 2020)
Sami Seif
(21) from Cleveland, Ohio has been awarded Second Place in the Level Two Division (ages 17-21) of the Community Music School (CMS) of Webster University’s Young Composers Competition for his composition titled
La'ib an-nard (The Dice Player).
Judges described his work as
"very tasteful and flavorful," with "beautiful, sensitive writing!"
Seif has been invited to St. Louis where his composition will be performed by musicians from
Chamber Project St. Louis
and recorded as part of the Young Composers Concert at 3:00 p.m. on March 21st. In addition, he will have the opportunity to get feedback on his work from visiting composer,
Angélica Negrón, Puerto Rican-born composer, multi-instrumentalist and Teaching Artist for the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers program.
"The students selected in this competition are among the best emerging young composers in the nation," said Carol Commerford, director of the CMS. "We received over 40 submissions from all over the country and from as far away as England and China. The CMS is proud to bring public performance and recognition to these new works and these young composers that represent the future of music in our communities."
More about Sami Seif
Sami Seif
(age 21) is a Lebanese composer, music theorist, and pianist. His music is inspired by the aesthetics, philosophies and paradigms of his Middle-Eastern heritage, as well as his ideal of creating deeply emotional and spiritually stirring music.
A Junior, he is currently double-majoring in Composition and Music Theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio. He is studying Composition with Dr. Keith Fitch and Piano with Gerardo Teissonnière. He has taken masterclasses with renowned composers such as Stephen Hartke, Andrew Norman, Melinda Wagner, and Yehudi Wyner.
Seif is from the small town of Ashkout in Mount Lebanon. Born in Abu Dhabi to a non-musical family, he started out as a self-taught musician, composing and playing keyboard instruments at the age of 12.
Seif studied Piano and Composition with Julia Victorivna Podsekaeva from 2013-2015 in Abu Dhabi. During this period, he also studied audio engineering and sound synthesis. Later, he moved to Toronto for two years and studied Composition with Dr. Roger Bergs during that time.
Fluent in Arabic, French, and English, he also enjoys exercising, cooking, as well as reading books and poetry in his free time.
