Leah Reid’s Jouer

U.S. composer Leah Reid’s composition Jouer won the Marcelle Deschênes Prize in Electronic Music / Prix Marcelle Deschênes pour la musique électronique in the 2024 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 2024 jury noted the piece kept their attention with its "broad dynamic" and "interesting musical gestures and textures, rising and falling energy levels."

 

Upon received the news that her piece had won the prize, Reid said “To be recognized in connection with Deschênes’ remarkable legacy is profoundly meaningful. My sincere thanks to Musicworks, the contest jury, and Kevin Austin for supporting this vital platform for underrepresented voices in electronic music.”

 

Dr. Leah Reid is a composer, sound artist, researcher, and educator, whose works range from opera, chamber, and vocal music, to acousmatic, electroacoustic works, and interactive sound installations. Her primary research interests involve the perception, modeling, and compositional applications of timbre. In her works, timbre acts as a catalyst for exploring new soundscapes, time, space, perception, and color.

 

She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA), where she teaches courses in music composition and technology. 

 

Winner of a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship, Reid has received numerous honors for her work. Her composition Reverie won first place in the 2022 edition of the Musicworks EMC Contest.

 

Here is Reid's program note for Jouer:

Jouer is an immersive composition for amplified soprano saxophone and electronics that explores sounds associated with “play”—sports, balls bouncing or being hit, playground and amusement park sounds, sounds of various children’s toys, balloons, video games, swimming pool games, trampolines, casinos, racetrack sounds, and much more. The electronics lead the listener through various soundscapes associated with the theme, while the saxophone part interacts with the evolving timbres and unifies the various sound worlds.

 

Reid composed the piece at Yaddo and MacDowell as part of her Guggenheim Fellowship. The piece was composed for saxophonist and experimental performance artist Kyle Hutchins and the Cube at Virginia Tech. The performance on the recording  by Kyle Hutchins.

 

 

The 2024 Musicworks EMC Contest received 148 composition entries from 24 countries.

Read the media release with the full list of 2024 winners.

 

Learn more about Leah Reid and her work here.

 

Audio: Jouer (2024) by Leah Reid.

 

The 2025 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition opens August 1, 2025.