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The finalists of the fourth edition of the Graham Sommer Competition!

Published: 30 January 2026

The Schulich School of Music of ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï is pleased to announce five finalists for the fourth edition of the Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers.ÌýEstablished in 2017, this national competition recognizes works for chamber music formations with piano that show significant potential to engage audiences and become standard repertoire.ÌýSelected from over 60 Canadian applicants under the age of 35, this year’s finalists will compose new works for sextet (C flute, B-flat clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and vibraphone) to be premiered before a live jury in September 2026. The finalists are: 

Lily Koslow is a Montréal-based composer, pianist, and vocalist whose music has been presented at festivals including Composers Conference, soundSCAPE, Festival Temporel, Soundwich, and the Domaine Forget International Festival.ÌýThey have undertaken residencies with institutions such as the Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, the Akademie der Künste, and Le Vivier, and has collaborated with leading contemporary ensembles including Talea Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Attacca Quartet.Ìý

Ashton Latimer is a Canadian composer from Vancouver whose orchestral work Purification received the SOCAN Young Composer Award and was selected for the 2024 Hugh Davidson Composer Readings with the Victoria Symphony. In 2025, he completed Overflow for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as part of the Jean Coulthard Readings and mentorship program, and his works have been performed by ensembles and musicians across Canada and the United States. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.Ìý

Fiona Marchetto is a multi-genre composer and performer whose work has been commissioned by the American Modern Ensemble and premiered at the 2024 Mostly Modern Festival. She has performed as concertmaster at the Trentino Music Festival, Opera ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï, and the National Academy Orchestra, collaborated with indie bands opening for Death Cab for Cutie, and placed third in the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto’s Emerging Canadian Composer Competition.Ìý

Liam Ritz is a Toronto-based Canadian composer and the current RBC Affiliate Composer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. His music has been performed by ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and Talea Ensemble, and has been presented at major festivals across North America. Recognized as one of CBC’s 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30, he is a seven-time SOCAN Foundation Young Composers Award recipient and has received support from major Canadian arts organizations.Ìý

Chinese Canadian composer ¸é´Ç²â»å´Ç²ÔÌý°Õ²õ±ð’s music has been performed by ensembles including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, and Chor Leoni. Recent highlights include his concerto Restless World Anew, co-commissioned by the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, and international performances by the Asian Youth Orchestra. He is a multi-award-winning composer and Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Saskatchewan.Ìý

The final round of the competition will take place at the Schulich School of Music on September 27, 2026, at 2:00 pm and will be webcast live.ÌýThe five new works will be premiered by outstanding Montreal based contemporary music ensemble, : Jeffrey Stonehouse (flute and artistic direction), Viviane Gosselin (cello), Gwénaëlle Ratouit (clarinet), Hubert Brizard (violin), Pamela Reimer (piano), Krystina Marcoux (percussion). Following the performance, the jury will award over $50,000 in prizes: $18,000 for the first prize, $12,000 for the second, three honourable mentions of $6,000, as well as a $6,000 People’s Choice Award.Ìý 

Chaired by Associate Professor and Area Coordinator of Music Composition at the Schulich School of Music Jean Lesage, the jury comprises acclaimed Canadian violinist Amy Hillis; winner of the 2nd edition of the Graham Sommer Competition, Matthew Ricketts (Canada); Marcos Balter (Brazil), and Zosha Di Castri (Canada), members of the composition faculty at Columbia University; Director of the Canadian Music Center in Ontario, Joseph Glaser; and Afa Dworkin, President and Artistic Director of the Sphinx Organization.Ìý 

About the Competition: 

Canadian composers under the age of 35 were invited to submit three scores for any standard chamber music configuration by August 15, 2024.ÌýBased on these submissions, an international jury of composers, performers, and distinguished members of the classical music community selected five finalists to create an original work for sextet: C flute, B-flat clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and vibraphone.ÌýThe five commissioned works will be premiered before a live jury by  at the Schulich School of Music of ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï on September 27, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.ÌýThe concert will be webcast.ÌýThe winners of all prizes, including the audience prize, will be announced following the performance and jury deliberations.ÌýFor more information, visit www.mcgill.ca/gsc.Ìý

About Dr. Graham Sommer: 

Dr.ÌýGraham Sommer died on October 2, 2016, and left a legacy of excellence in medicine and an abiding love for the transformative power of music. A native of British Columbia, Dr.ÌýSommer graduated from ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï’s Faculty of Medicine in 1972 and went on to hold positions at Yale and Stanford Universities, becoming a world class researcher for 37 years.ÌýDr. Sommer’s enduring passion for music has resonated at ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï notably through the Dr. Graham Sommer Piano Fund, which supported the restoration of pianos in ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï residences and the purchase of a new piano for Douglas Hall.ÌýWhile Sommer excelled in his chosen field of medicine, he was also inspired by a lifelong love of music fostered by his own accomplishments as a classical pianist and composer.Ìý

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