U.K. composer Manuella Blackburn’s composition Home Truths won the Marcelle Deschênes Prize in Electronic Music in the 2023 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition (EMC) Contest. This donor-supported annual prize awards $300 to a self-identified female or non-binary composer with an entry in the annual contest.
 
The 2023 jury called the piece “exciting and engaging.” One juror remarked, “It does a great job exploring timbre, texture, space, pitch, and rhythmic spaces and has a clear form—the piece keeps you on your toes in a great way.”
 
“I’m absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Marcelle Deschênes Prize in Electronic Music which recognizes self-identified female and non-binary composers,” Blackburn said, upon receiving the news. “I’m so happy my music has been recognized on this international platform for new music—I’ve taken some risks and changed up some of my compositional approaches in this work, so it’s gratifying to see this resonate with the panel. Thanks to all at Musicworks for this opportunity.”
 
Blackburn is an experienced, practice-based researcher in the field of electroacoustic music. She is an internationally recognized, award-winning composer, whose nine-minute piece Landline won first place in the 2018 edition of the Musicworks EMC Contest. Her compositions have been played globally in over 250 performances, concerts, exhibitions, and festivals. Her music is published on the Montreal-based label Empreintes DIGITALes.
 
Here is Blackburn’s program note for Home Truths:
 
Interruptions dominate this composition, acting as pauses, abrupt stops, moments cut short and held breaths. These moments represent the many interruptions experienced in my daily life, in work, activities, and composing. Interruptions are temporal states where continuity is ceased but then resumed or returned to after the interrupting event is over. In this work, interruptions are positioned as the main event; acting as focal points and instances to explore the creative potential of these typically unwanted occurrences. There are many different types of interruptions constructed throughout the composition. These show the different outcomes between successful versus unsuccessful interruptions, those that form segues to those that forcefully threaten and break down sound’s continuous presence. This creative experimentation with many interruptions is set within the context of home life and home sounds. These sounds tell a story, imitating interruptions to flow, being in the home for extended periods and all this entails.
 
The 2023 Musicworks EMC Contest received 150 composition entries from around the world. Read the media release with the full list of 2023 winners.
 

THE 2024 MUSICWORKS ELECTRONIC MUSIC COMPOSITION CONTEST OPENS AUGUST 1, 2024.

Visit Manuella Blackburn's website to learn more about her compositional and academic work.
 
Audio: Home Truths (2023) by Manuella Blackburn.