Best Music Gifts for 2026
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2026 Compositions presented for Ages 17 and 18 for the 13th Annual Youth Composition Competition.
Distinguished Judges are Donald Sloan and Andrew Sigler.
First Place: Matthew Hodge, Second Place: Elian Rangel Scherer, Third Place Tie: Angela Jin and George Fisher
(Find ages 10 to 14 HERE, and ages 15 to 16 HERE.)
Composer entries for ages 17 and 18 are listed in Alphabetical Order below.
Reese Blue, Age 18, “Haptic Happenings!”
Tianzhe Chen, Age 18, “The Inner Voyage”
Xiaonuo Feng, Age 17, “Changes Within and Without”
George Fisher, Third Place Tie, “Within the Bazaar!”
George Fisher is a composer from the Twin Cities who writes music in a variety of styles, from solo to large-ensemble works, blending classical elements with unique rhythms, textures, and chordal mixtures. Some of his most recent pieces include Beyond the Meadows, written for orchestra + SATB, which explores the different layers of adventure, and Within the Bazaar!, a mixed sextet with both bright and smoky colors.
In addition to composition, George is a member of the University of Minnesota Clarinet Studio. He also plays saxophone, piano, sings in the gospel choir, and plays hand drum in the West African Music Ensemble. These diverse elements blend together to impact George’s compositional approach. George plans to pursue a career as a composer and professor.
Matthew Hodge, First Place, “Harlequinade”
Matthew Hodge (b. 2008) is a young classical composer, pianist, and violist currently based in Roseland, Virginia. He will be pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in composition at The Juilliard School in the fall of 2026, where he will study with Valerie Coleman. His music was first published when he was fourteen years old, and since then he has been commissioned by various notable musicians and had his music performed in prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Additionally, he was given the opportunity to have his music published by Universal Edition when he turns eighteen years old. He has also won numerous international, national, state, and local awards for his compositions from organizations including the Classic Pure Vienna International Music Competition, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Virginia Music Teachers Association (VMTA), and Wednesday Music Club (WMC) among others. Likewise, as a pianist, he has also won various state and local competitions. Furthermore, he is currently writing a song cycle in collaboration with 2025-26 National Youth Poet Laureate Evan Wang. Matthew currently studies composition with Sheridan Seyfried and Richard Danielpour.
Angela Jin, Third Place Tie, Age 18, “Unfolding Memory”
David Mao, Age 17, “Sweeping Rays”
Elian Rangel Scherer, Second Place for “Chacala”; also entered and “Nagarjuna”
Elián (b. 2008) is a composer and pianist from Chacala, a small fishing village on the Pacific coast of México. His work engages with questions of structure, and ritual, informed by the landscapes and cultural memory of his upbringing. He has written for a range of ensembles, from solo instruments to orchestra, and his music has been performed at multiple concerts at Interlochen Arts Academy, where he is currently completing his senior year.
Xinze Shi, Age 18, “Silence of Lost Songs in Extinction”
Larry Yuheng Li, “Cove of Uniqueness”
Larry Yuheng Li is a young composer from California, USA. His music is distinguished by vivid imagery, energetic rhythmic writing, and nuanced emotional expression. Through the interplay, contrast, and layering of different voices, his compositions often reveal a strong sense of structure and narrative flow. He is especially interested in exploring the balance among melodic movement, textural transformation, and coloristic tension, giving his works both expressive depth and formal coherence. In addition to composition, Larry is also an active multi-instrumentalist, studying and performing on piano, violin, and trumpet. He serves as a principal trumpet player in multiple ensembles and has appeared as a solo performer multiple times at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His dual experience as both performer and composer continues to enrich his musical language, giving his works a strong sense of sonic imagination and stage awareness.
Haoyuan Wu, “Currents”
Haoyuan (Maxwell) Wu is a high school composer based in Rhode Island whose work explores how structure shapes musical experience. His recent project, Cubin’ Composers, investigates how transformation processes inspired by the Rubik’s Cube can be translated into musical ideas, with a focus on how patterns develop and are perceived over time.
Alongside this work, Maxwell writes more traditional pieces that emphasize phrasing, texture, and expressive continuity. His composition Shadows into Light received Honorable Mention in the MTNA Rhode Island competition.
Maxwell is also a violinist and currently serves as Concertmaster of the Rhode Island All-State Orchestra. His experience as a performer informs his interest in how abstract ideas become natural and expressive in sound.
Angela Yaen Xin, Age 17, “Classroom Heartbeats”
Junyu (Nicholas) Zhuo, Age 17, “Breaking Ice”
