PAS Composition Contest
Funded by the Thomas V. Siwe Endowment
Purpose:
To encourage and reward composers who write music for percussion instruments and to increase the number of quality compositions written for percussion.
2025 Competition:
Category
Percussion Trio
Instrumentation: Three performers, specified as follows:
- Three performers on any number of percussion instruments. Non-standard instrumentation should be clearly described in the performance notes, along with any non-standard playing techniques. Pieces with aleatoric elements should have clear procedural descriptions.
- Electronics may be incorporated into any of the parts.
Duration:
- A minimum of 4-minutes
- For works over 12 minutes, composers should submit one or more excerpts totaling 12 minutes or less.
Notation:
- All parts must be notated.
- Groove or quasi-improvised sections (slash notation, style indications, etc.) may be used but should not constitute a majority of the piece.
Examples of instrumentation that fits the criteria:
- three percussionists on one marimba
- a work that includes guitar, played in a struck fashion or otherwise requiring no technical facility on guitar
- three percussionists with fixed media
- a drumset, timpani, djembe, six kick drums, chromatically tuned pipes (provided it is playable by three percussionists)
- found percussion
- electronic percussion (MalletKat, Mallet Station, Octopad)
Examples of instrumentation that does not fit the criteria:
- two percussionists and one pianist
- a guitar part written to be played as a guitar is normally played
- a work that is purely theatrical/silent nature
- a work where one player exclusively works with electronic processing or non-percussion instruments
Awards:
- $3,000 grand prize, up to two second prize ($250 each), and honorable mentions (no financial award).
- Compositions selected by the judges will be listed on the PAS website with the composer’s picture and bio.
- Grand prize and second prize will be listed along with a review of work(s) in Percussive Notes during early 2026.
Eligibility:
- Only works finished after January 2021 are eligible.
- Works may have been performed previously, but should not be published (self-published works are fine), and works may not have been written as part of a commission or consortium where monetary compensation was provided to create the work. PAS will select one grand prize winner, up to two second prize, and honorable mentions.
Entry Fee:
- $20.00
Procedures:
Submit the following items through the online application:
- A PDF file of the composition absent of any composer information. Label file with title of work.
- An audio file of a computer realization or other recording (non-performance) of the composition absent of any composer or performer information. Label file with title of work.
PLEASE NOTE:
- All complete applications will be evaluated by a panel of judges. Contest results will be announced in late 2025/early 2026.
- All entry materials become property of PAS. PAS does not claim rights to distribute materials. Materials will be archived for historical purposes only. Composers retain all rights to their composition.
- Multiple submissions are allowed, but a separate application and $20 entry fee is required for each entry.
Application Opens: May 1, 2025
Application Closes: September 15, 2025
Composition Contest Entry Form
The 2024 Composition Contest application is now closed.
2024 Winners: “Drumset + ________”
GRAND PRIZE: Brant Blackard, $3,000, “Obliterate”
Dr. Brant Blackard is an active performer, educator, and composer. As a founder of Frozen Earth Duo with Connor Stevens, he has toured extensively including performances and presentations at the Ontario PAS Day of Percussion and the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar. Brant has performed internationally with chamber groups such as the Alla Balena Ensemble and the Zohn Collective.
His original compositions for percussion have been performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention and have been given recent premieres at Oklahoma University and the Eastman School of Music. His compositions are published through MPI, Blue Aster, and Wildight Publications. Brant has also retained his love of metal drumming and continues to play regularly.
Brant Blackard received his DMA and MM Degrees from the Eastman School of Music along with the prestigious Performer’s Certificate and Milton Schlesinger Prize, and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance and Literature from the University of Central Arkansas.
He is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and has previously served on faculties at Jacksonville State University, Talladega College, and Virginia Tech University.
Brant is an endorser and performing artist of Malletech instruments and mallets and is a Black Swamp Percussion and Dreams Cymbals and Gongs educator.
2ND PRIZE: John Tadlock, $250, “[insert title here]”
Originally from Longview, TX, John Tadlock holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion from Stephen F. Austin State University, a Master’s degree in Percussion Performance from Indiana University, and a Performer’s Diploma from the Mannes School of Music. He is currently based in New York City, working as a freelance percussionist and composer.
As a percussionist, John has performed in several eclectic venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day and London New Years Day Parades, and professional recording sessions at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. In his first year at SFA he was named a winner of the 2012 Concerto/Aria Competition, in 2017 he received the SFA President’s Award for Most Outstanding Recital of the Year, and in 2023 he received Honorable Mention at the George and Elizabeth Gregory Concerto Competition.
John has performed as a soloist with several groups including the East Texas Symphonic Band, the Stephen F. Austin State University Orchestra, and the Gettysburg College Wind Ensemble in 2024. He has performed at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, including as a member of the first PASIC All-Star Percussion Ensemble in 2015, and with Indiana University’s IPEC showcase concert in 2018. While in Indiana, John performed in several musical theater productions at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, and performed as a section percussionist with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and the Richmond Symphony.
As a composer, John’s musical influences come from a variety of places, including rock, jazz, classical, film scores, and video game soundtracks, and he has had his percussion works played all over the country, including in the percussion ensemble showcase at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Aside from percussion music, John has written four original albums varying in scope from full orchestra and chamber to digital fusion, as well as a feature film score, and a short film score.
John is an Artist/Endorser for Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, and he is a member of the Percussive Arts Society and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
HONORABLE MENTION: Adam Hopper, “Possibly Dangerous”
Adam Hopper (b.1985) is an active percussion educator, composer, and performer in southeast Kentucky. He currently serves as an Adjunct Percussion Instructor at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.
Dr. Hopper is involved in many aspects of both the percussion and music education landscape. An active performer and clinician, he has performed with Grammy award winning artist Wes Hampton, Dove award winner TaRanda Greene, Tiffany Coburn of Voctave, Phil Nitz, The Orquesta Sinfonica Cristiana de El Salvador, A Una Voz, The Almeida Duo, The Campbellsville Fusion Ensemble, as well as many others. Dr. Hopper also serves as the principal percussionist and percussion coordinator for Sacred Winds and the Somerset Big Band.
As a composer, Dr. Hopper’s works have been performed in multiple countries spanning the globe. His best selling marimba solo “Ghost Garden,” as well as a variety of works and collections for percussion, are published through C.Alan Publications. In 2015, Dr. Hopper was named the winner of the Heartland Marimba Festival’s Young Composer Competition for his piece, “Island Market.” He also received an honorable mention in the 2024 Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest for his work, “Possibly Dangerous.” Additionally, he has a variety of self published works available through his own imprint, Hopper Percussion.
A frequent clinician and speaker, Dr. Hopper has presented clinics at a variety of schools and Universities in the United States, El Salvador, and Brazil. Presentations on percussion and music education have been given at the Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference, the Elk Grove Percussion Symposium, The University of Arkansas, Sacramento State University, Morehead State University, Campbellsville University, The West Kentucky Percussion Festival, University of the Cumberlands, Hannibal-Lagrange University, and many others. Dr. Hopper was also a featured session presenter at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy at the University of Memphis in 2023, and the University of Texas at Arlington in 2025.
Prior to his work at Campbellsville, Dr. Hopper directed the award winning Southwestern High School Percussion Ensemble, and oversaw the marching and symphonic percussion sections from 2009 to 2022. During his tenure, Dr. Hopper’s groups performed at the Elk Grove Percussion Festival in Chicago, Illinois; The Lassiter Percussion Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia; The KASA Conference in Louisville, Kentucky; the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina; the 2017 and 2022 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana; and the 2020 Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
Dr. Hopper holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education as well as a Master’s in Percussion Performance from Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. In 2023, he received his Doctorate of Music Education from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has professional affiliations with the NAFME, ASBDA, The Kentucky Music Educators Association, and the Percussive Arts Society. Dr. Hopper is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Mapex/Majestic Percussion, Beetle Practice Pads, Black Swamp Percussion, and Vertical Snare Drums. He currently resides in Somerset, Kentucky with his wife Sarah, their son Jack, and their cats, Bossa and Thelonious.
HONORABLE MENTION: Christian Kilgore, “Quantization”
Christian Kilgore (b. 2000) is a percussionist, performer, educator, and composer currently based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He has a Bachelor’s in Percussion Performance and in Music Composition from Kennesaw State University and is currently pursuing his Master’s in Percussion Performance at Middle Tennessee State University.
He has been playing percussion for over twelve years and composing for various groups for the past decade. He currently performs in various large ensembles, percussion ensembles, church organizations, multiple local ensembles, steel pan bands, a salsa band, and is always working on solo content. He has notably appeared as a solo artist during the world premiere of his first concerto and can be heard performing multiple original works on his album Just the Beginning.
His compositions have been premiered by the Texas Christian University Percussion Ensemble, the Middle Tennessee State University Percussion Ensemble and Steel Pan Band, the Kennesaw State University Symphony Orchestra and Percussion Ensemble, RE-Percussion, Jackson County High School, Discovery High School, North Oconee High School, the Governor’s Honors Program Percussion Ensemble and more.
He has also had the opportunity to lecture/teach at the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, Middle Tennessee State University, West Jackson Middle School, Whitefield Academy, Jackson County High School, Lost Mountain Middle School, Encore Band Camp, Wheeler High School, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, and more.
Christian has had the pleasure to study under Lalo Davila, Brian Mueller, Julie Davila, John lawless, and Laurence Sherr.
As Christian is still pursuing higher education, he hopes to continue to teach, perform, and compose for percussion professionally for the rest of his career.
HONORABLE MENTION: Conner Page, “Psychosis”
Conner Page is an upcoming Composer who writes music in all sorts of fashions for a hobby, and looks to expand on that hobby to see how far it takes them. Since they were a child, music was all they loved, and now they push themselves to expand on said love to all people willing to listen. They currently work on Fiverr under their name and write all sorts of compositions, ranging from Drumline Cadences, to Percussion Ensemble pieces, and even full concert band motifs. They have also assisted in writing the percussion parts for marching shows for multiple schools over multiple states, including being the main percussion writer for their own school for the 2024-2025 season. They’re looking to expand on that and write for many schools to spread the joys of percussion to all.
On top of being mainly a marching percussion writer, they’ve also written multiple pieces in the percussion ensemble style for their own school, ranging from mallet duets/trios, to full drummy style pieces!
If you are looking to see what ideas they come up with, or the fun things they make with friends (and possibly what you make, if you’re interested in working with them), check out their YouTube Channel under their name! (https://youtube.com/@phantomdrummer2006?feature=shared) If you’re interested in ordering a piece that you hear from YouTube, or want a completely original piece, check them out on Fiverr under their name! (https://www.fiverr.com/s/lj8em1A)
Finally, if you’re interested in getting to know this Composer, and want to work with them on any level, feel free to contact them by email! connerpage06@gmail.com
HONORABLE MENTION: Svit Starkl, “The Great Wall Filament”
Svit Štarkl studied music education at the Celje Music School (Slovenia), for piano and percussion. After that, he attended secondary music school for percussion at the 1st Gymnasium in Celje, with the mentor Urban Krč. He played concerts with the symphony and wind orchestra of the Celje School of Music and with the chamber percussion group of the school.
He is currently a fourth-year percussion student at the University of Zagreb Academy of Music in the class of prof. Igor Lešnik. So far, he has participated in percussion festivals in Samobor, Bjelovar and attended several percussion master classes (Nebojša Jovan Živković, Aleksandra Šuklar, Tomasz Golinski, Irena Manolova, Delia Stevens, Leo Le Yu, Walter Mertens). During his studies he also played with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra.
HONORABLE MENTION: Andy Thierauf, “Mountain Phase”
Andy Thierauf is a Philadelphia-based percussionist, composer, and educator often seen performing in new music ensembles including the Arcana New Music Ensemble, NakedEye Ensemble, and Unseen Rain, among others. He is particularly interested in combining percussion with theater, dance, and technology, to create multimedia performances with choreographers, visual artists, and composers. Andy teaches at the Settlement Music School and is an adjunct professor of percussion at Kutztown University where he teaches percussion lessons and co-directs the percussion ensemble. In addition to performing and teaching, Andy is the managing director of Bowerbird, a concert presenting organization in Philadelphia focusing on new and experimental music.
www.andythierauf.com
