Craig Carnahan of St. Louis Park, Minnesota has won the prize of $1,000 in the 2012 Twin Cities AGO Composition Competition for his setting of Psalm 130: Out of the Depths, scored for SATB choir and organ. The 25 compositions submitted from across the United States were judged by Robert Strusinski, Curt Oliver, Lawrence Lawyer, and James Callahan, ex officio.
Carnahan received his B.A. from Concordia College (Moorhead, MN) and did graduate studies in composition with Dominick Argento and Paul Fetler at the University of Minnesota. He was composer-in-residence for the American Composers Forum’s Faith Partners Residency Project in 1998, and he received an Artist Initiative Grant in 2008 from the Minnesota State Arts Board.
In the past 25 years, Craig Carnahan has received over 50 commissions. His music has been performed by such groups as the Dale Warland Singers, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Milwaukee Choral Artists, Minnesota Boychoir, and many others. Recent commissions and premieres include A Quiet Place for Minneapolis pianist Timothy De Prey, Sappho’s Raft for Kantorei, If in Your Heart for Choral Arts Ensemble, and I Am into Your Fire for Sound Circle.
Requirements for the 2013 Twin Cities AGO Composition Competition can be found at TCAGO.org.
