13th Annual Youth Music Composition Competition (Under 15 Years 2026 Entries)
Please support this competition with music gift purchases.
Judges for age 10 to 14 entries are Kevin James and George Variego
First Place Tie - JoAnna Mo and Sebastian Haley A tie for first place was awarded in lieu of a first and second place instead of in addition to a first and second place because it required more funding. Next year, I will set aside more allowance for potential ties.
See Student Composition entries listed in alphabetic order for ages 10 - 14 below.
Youth Compositions : ages 15 and 16 HERE, and for ages 17/ 18 HERE.
As Owner and Creator of MusicTeacherGifts.com I, Becky Chaffee, have created this competition to highlight youth involved in music. It is rewarding to assist these very talented students, even in such a small way. Because of the thank you notes over the years from students, parents and teachers, I have kept this going. The best way to thank me is to purchase my music products for yourself, your friends or for teacher gifts.
Students that enter the composition competition have different amounts of experience and instruction. No one should be discouraged if they don’t “place”. This competition is meant to encourage the students. Many tell me, they enjoy seeing each others work for inspiration. (Most of the student entries are presented below, or on the pages noted for their age group - scroll down). Both experienced young composers and composers with little or no instruction are comfortable entering this competition. I think the most important part of this is the judges’ feedback to fuel future work for each student. In addition, it is great for the students to see what others are creating. The judges and I also love the privledge of hearing the student work. This competition was created and is orchestrated by myself as volunteer work. I also have created everything sold on this website; again, I hope that you will purchase gifts here for your teachers and friends to help support this project. There are many, many unseen hours poured into this competition in addition to finding the wonderful volunteer judges, and donating the prize money with the help of sponsor JW Pepper Sheet music and MusicTeacherGifts.com. Please look up the work of the amazing judges listed here, and give our sponsors your business. Thank you.
Music Lesson note cards. Captions on back.
Popular Note Cards with original art by Becky Chaffee
Also popular sold as large prints. Some of the original paintings are also available for purchase. Of course there are fun paintings with bassoons and trombones and tubas or bands! They are mainly less popular because there are less people that play these instruments. If you don’t see a painting you are looking for with a specific instrument or demonstrating a specific music practice tip, please send me a note at Becky@MusicTeacherGifts.com. Purchase Note Cards Here
Captions for cards on the left:
Sleep On It - Piano with quilt and sleeping cat on it. Note there is another card offered with same caption.
Practice Top: Just Do It - Cat playing clarinet with dissengaged eyes, tail playing with mouse.
Bird Yoga - Flautist on wire with birds.
Catch-a-Mouse Tango - Pun on works by Composer Khachaturian
Be Familiar With All Parts or Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way - The octopus painting comes with two choices of titles. Very papular large print.
Joanna Mo, 1st Place Tie, “Go Home : Salmon”
Joanna Mo is an 8th grader at Sartartia Middle School. Joanna started playing the piano at the age of 6, music composition at the age of 8, and cello at the age of 11 in her school orchestra. Joanna has studied composing under Mr. Yiming Wu’s guidance for 5 years and Music Theory and Music History under Dr. Xun Chen for 5 years.
Sebastian Haley, 1st Place Tie, “Dreaming”
Sebastian Haley is a 12-year-old student and young composer from Redding, Connecticut. He loves creating music and is inspired by J. S. Bach, Erik Satie, and Coldplay. He studies composition with Li Longfei and also enjoys learning piano and flute. He is thrilled to be recognized by the MusicTeacherGifts.com Competition. Outside of music, he enjoys running, skiing and reading.
Eliana Abrams, Age 11, “Hope”
Nicholas Camarinos, “Fantasy No. 1 for Violin in C Minor, Op. 1: Allegro non troppo”
Nicholas Camarinos, 13, is in the 7th grade at the Elisabeth Morrow School (EMS) in Englewood, NJ where he has been a member of the Super Chamber Orchestra for three years, entering at the earliest possible age. He has been studying violin with Ms. Brittany Sklar for 6 years and he has been a member of the Symphonic Orchestra at the Thurnauer School of Music for three years, which he is now concert master of, and is conducted by Mr. Diego Garcia. Additionally, he is interested in conducting, which he studies with Mr. Diego Garcia. Nicholas's awards include the following competitions: 1st place at Crescendo International Music Competition, 1st and 2nd place at Vivo International Music Competition, 1st place at Little Mozarts International Music Competition multiple years, and regional and All-State orchestra acceptances. Nicholas has been a member of the orchestra at EMS's Summer String Festival since 2022, which he was the concertmaster of in 2025. In 2026 Nicholas received multiple awards from different International Music competitions including a 2nd Place award in the Young Artists International Premiere Competition for Conducting. He won the Saint Saens International Music Competition for his original composition Fantasy No. 1 for Violin in C Minor, Op. 1: Allegro Non Troppo. He also won the Saint Saens International Music Competition Special Award for Outstanding Musicality. In addition to music, Nicholas also enjoys skiing, sailing, golf, and rubik’s cubing.
Elia Chang, Age 11, “Blooming”
Olivia Fan, Age 11, “A Stormy NIght”
Robert Nersesian, “Fall Rhapsody”
Robert Nerses (artist name for You tube, Facebook, Instagram) - An 11-year-old middle school student from Montgomery County, Maryland, he began composing music at the age of 8. Since then, he has created over two dozen original classical compositions and songs. In addition to composing, he writes lyrics and performs his own work. He actively participates in numerous musical competitions and shares his music across major music platforms, including Spotify, YouTube and other social media.
SPECIAL SKILLS
Songwriting: 10+ original songs, notations and lyrics
Proficient in the song-writing application Ableton Live
Foreign languages: Russian (fluent), Armenian (beginner), different accents and sounds
Painting, Jewelry design and making
Kailash Srinivasan, “Nightmare”
Kailash Srinivasan is 13 years old and lives in Torrance, California. He plays percussion for his middle school’s Concert Band, and snare drum for Drumline.
Kailash developed an interest in music in third grade, when his teacher would play "Mozart in the Morning" (specifically Sonata 11). It inspired him to start learning piano four years ago, and his interest in music grew.
When his middle school band played a few pieces by Randall Standridge, Kailash started analyzing the scores on his own time, which began his composition journey. He thought it would be fun to tell a musical story about his worst dreams, so he created his first piece. "Nightmare" will be premiered at the North Torrance Youth Musicians Ensemble’s Spring Concert this May.
Randall Standridge and Tyler S. Grant are his favorite composers. Additionally, Kailash learns Indian classical music and plays soccer, chess, and loves to solve Rubik’s cubes.
Jenny Yu, Age 13, “Musical Passport” (Having trouble entering this piece.)
Anlan Zhang, Age 14, “Lively Night”
Hengyi Zhang, Age 14, “Desolation”
Emma Zhou, Age 11, “Wonderland”
Xiaohan Charles Zhuo, Age 11, “Bees In The Field”
Xiaoyan Edmond Zhuo, Age 13, “Beaver By The Water”
