Express the Music Contest

THE EXPRESS THE ARTS CONTEST

Sponsored by the Neighborhood Music Project, a collaboration between Princeton University Concerts and Trenton Arts at Princeton

The Neighborhood Music Project is pleased to announce a special edition of the Express the Music contest! This year, they are hosting the 2023-24 Express the Arts Contest–a contest designed to capture the impact of the arts as perceived by Saturday Morning Arts (SMArts) students. This year’s Express the Arts contest will be open to all SMArts members, whose growth, inspiration, and reflection on their artistic journey will embody the theme for this cycle. Contestants will have the choice to submit a written piece or an illustration responding to one of our two central questions: 

  • What or who inspires you to create art?
  • Who was your favorite SMArts guest, and what did you learn from their visit? This can be a guest artist who performed at the beginning of a rehearsal, or a guest who visited your specific SMArts Group.

The First Prize winner will be awarded a MacBook Air.

Submission deadline is February 25, 2024.

The winning entry(ies) will be announced and publicly distributed in a printed booklet in spring 2024. Princeton University Concerts and Trenton Arts at Princeton may incorporate the winning entry(ies) into future print and online materials. 

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Maestro Dudamel’s Legacy: About the Neighborhood Music Project

For its historic 125th anniversary during the 2018-19 season, Princeton University Concerts brought conductor Gustavo Dudamel to campus as its first Artist-in-Residence for a year-long residency designed to propel classical music forward in a vibrant and socially relevant manner. Celebrated by the campus and broader community, this residency inspired a new outreach program, the Neighborhood Music Project, conceived to reinforce Maestro Dudamel’s commitment to music as a force for uniting communities, empowering young people, and promoting positive social change. The Neighborhood Music Project is a collaboration between Princeton University Concerts and Trenton Arts at Princeton.


PAST WINNERS:

 

2022-23 Contest

To see the winning submissions, click here.

First Prize Winners

Sorange Rutabairo, 12th grade - A Nourishing Moment, inspired by Jess Gillam's Richardson Auditorium Performance

Evita Vasquez, 12th grade - Musician's Paint, inspired by Jess Gillam's Richardson Auditorium Performance

Second Place Winner

Marie Jules, 10th grade - Listening Further, inspired by Jess Gillam's Richardson Auditorium Performance

Honorable Mentions

Guadalupe Bueno, 12th grade - Down the Hedge, inspired by the tenThing Richardson Auditorum Performance

Olivia Keith-Henry, 12th grade - Je ne táime pas, inspired by Jess Gillam's rendition of Je ne táime pas

 

2021-22 Contest

To see the winning submissions, click here.

First Prize Winner

Kilder Sanic, 12th grade - Listen: A Reminder, inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason's TCHS performance

Second Place Winners

Guadalupe Bueno, 11th grade - Magic Behind the Music, inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason's TCHS performance

Allison Cifuentes, 11th grade - The Shout to Peace, inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason's Richardson Auditorium performance

Honorable Mentions

Sherly Hernandez-Rodas, 11th grade - (Story You Pick), inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason's performance of the Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40 by Dmitri Shostakovich

Deborah Htu, 12th grade - Time to Time, inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason's performance of the spiritual "Deep River"

 

2020-21 Contest

To see the winning submissions, click here.

First Prize Winners

Jairo Cabrera, 12th grade - Light in Darkness, inspired by the song "Don't Stop Me Now" by the British rock band Queen

Evita Vasquez Reyes, 10th grade - Filter, accompanied by an original drawing by the author

 

2019-20 Contest

To see the winning submissions, click here.

First Prize Winner

Gisela Bramonte, 10th grade - Mounsanti, inspired by a Performances Up Close program with pianist Gabriela Montero

Honorable Mentions

Perla Diaz, 9th grade - Beautiful Melody, inspired by an all-Ives program performed by violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist Jeremy Denk

Raymaellene Gomez, 10th grade - What Music Means to Me, inspired by a Performances Up Close program with pianist Gabriela Montero

McKhia Owen, 10th grade - Untitled, inspired by a Performances Up Close program with pianist Gabriela Montero

Collin Thompson, 12th grade - Let Music Set You Free, pen on paper, inspired by a Performances Up Close program with pianist Gabriela Montero