Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State University’s Hugh A. Glauser School of Music has selected Alex Stephenson, Ph.D., as the winner and commissioned composer of the fourth annual 2026 Roy Minoff Composition Competition.
Stephenson was chosen from a pool of 76 applicants and will receive a $14,000 commission to compose a 15- to 20-minute work for flute, saxophone, piano, percussion and cello. The work is scheduled to receive its premiere at Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State in fall 2027, performed by Glauser School of Music faculty. He also will attend the premiere and participate in related activities, such as a lecture or master class.
Stephenson is an assistant professor of music theory and composition at Illinois State University, where he teaches composition, theory, orchestration and electronic music. His music has been commissioned and presented by the Tanglewood Music Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Breckenridge Music Festival, Royaumont Voix Nouvelles Festival, ISCM World New Music Days, Composers Conference and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. His recent and upcoming collaborators include the Bergamot Quartet, Duo Axis, Flux Quartet, Grossman Ensemble at the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition and the La Jolla Symphony.
Photo Credit: Jessica C. Flores
Stephenson’s recent honors include the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He received a Ph.D. from the University of California San Diego, a Master of Arts from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago. He also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London as a U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Scholar. Previously, as a doctoral candidate at the University of California San Diego, he received the university-wide Barbara and Paul Saltman Excellent Teaching Award.
The 2026 finalists are Artun Çekem, Cem Güven, Felipe Lara and Matthew Ricketts.
The 2026 competition jury included cory ryan kasprzyk; Chris Neiner; Karola °¿²ú±ð°ù³¾Ã¼±ô±ô±ð°ù, professor of music at the University of California, San Diego; and Keith Fitch, Vincent K. and Edith H. Smith Chair in Composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
The jury brought together composers, performers and educators with experience across higher education, contemporary music and new music performance. is a musician whose work includes composition, performance and projects connected to sustainability, nonintention and veganism. is a Cleveland-based composer-pianist and entrepreneur. is a composer and professor in the Department of Music at the University of California, San Diego. heads the Composition Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music and directs the CIM New Music Ensemble.
The Roy Minoff Composition Competition is sponsored by Roy Minoff, a Cleveland-based philanthropist who attended Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State and has a longstanding interest in music and composition. The competition is designed to support the creation of significant new work and bring contemporary composition to Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State students, faculty and audiences.
The competition is open to composers of all ages, regardless of style. There is no entry fee. The jury’s selection of a commissioned composer supports the Glauser School of Music’s role in advancing new music, while providing students and audiences with direct access to the process of developing and premiering a newly commissioned work.
Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State University’s Glauser School of Music
In the Glauser School of Music, faculty members train the next generation of music educators, scholars, performers and technology experts through immersive undergraduate and graduate programs that ignite passion and stimulate curiosity.
From western classical and jazz to the many African and Asian traditions, the school’s nearly 30 ensembles annually welcome more than 500 music majors, non-majors and community members to learn, celebrate and perform the diverse music the world has to offer. Every summer, the school hosts the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ Blossom Music Festival in partnership with the Cleveland Orchestra to become a center of professional music training for over 40 highly skilled young artists from around the world.
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Media Contact:
Jen Crabtree, jcrabt13@kent.edu, 330-328-3346