XAVIER MUZIC

ANNOUNCED AS THE WINNER OF THE THIRD ANNUAL BLACK COMPOSERS PRIZE NOW KNOWN AS MICHAEL MORGAN PRIZE

BY: IRIDE APARICIO

Photos Courtesy: The SF Symphony

SAN FRANCISCO, CA- The San Francisco Symphony, in partnership with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) President's Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion,  announced today that Xavier Muzik is the winner of the third annual Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP) and that the composer will receive a $15,000 commission and mentorship and that his piece will premier with the San Francisco Symphony, led by Music Director Esa Pekka Salonen during the 2024-25 season.

Music Director Esa Pekka Salonen

In addition to announcing Muzik as the newest winner, it was announced to the press that from now on, the Emerging Black Composer Project Award will be renamed the Michael Morgan Prize in honor of the music director of the Oakland Symphony and the first chair and cofounder of the EBCP before he died in 2021. Morgan was dedicated to music education and a believer in the power of music to change communities for the better.

"The Oakland Symphony is thrilled to have this prize named after Michael Morgan," said Oakland Symphony executive Director Dr. Mieko Hatana. "This project was extremely important to him as a lifelong champion of living but lost and underrepresented composers. He will forever be our guiding light and force behind those values we continue to uplift as an orchestra. With this ne honor, he will aptly live on in the notes of every prize-winning composer."

Muzic was selected as the through an anonymous review process overseen by a selection committee led by EBCP Chair Daniel Bartholomew Poyser and including SFCM Music Director Edwin Outwater and San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Solonen.

Musik defines music as follows: "Music is history and music is culture. Composition is the practice of balancing these forces through creation, which has, for me, helped enlighten my identity. I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue that practice in collaboration with the amazing people, players and administrators of these fine institutions."

Aside from his $15,000 commissioning fee, the composer will receive mentorship from committee members, and resources to workshop his piece with SFCM, along with a premier at Davies Symphony Hall, where Muzik will join Jens Ibsen, Trevor Weston, Sumi Tonooka, Jonathan Bingham, and Shawn Okpebholo as previous winners of the 10 year project.