Brian M. Israel/Sam Pellman Award
Society for New Music seeks to encourage promising New York State composers who are currently studying or beginning their professional careers. Society for New Music sponsors the annual Brian M. Israel/Sam Pellman Competition, which is open to composers living in New York State who are either currently enrolled in a degree program in music composition or who are 30 years of age or younger as of May 1, whose music has not previously been performed by Society for New Music. A panel of composers, conductors, and performers judges compositions on originality, artistic promise, technical skill, and effectiveness in performance. Composers may submit one work for 1-7 performers, in any combination, and may include tape or solo voices, but no choral pieces. To honor the late composers Brian Israel and Sam Pellman, Society for New Music awards two cash prizes for $1,000 and $750. Also, each of the two prize-winning compositions will be performed by the Society for New Music during the following season.
How To Apply
Composers wishing to submit their work, please apply HERE via our Google form. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, July 15, 2026 (at 11:59pm).
So who’s Brian Israel?
So who’s Sam Pellman?
Sam Pellman, 1953-2017, was an admired teacher, a groundbreaking scholar in the area of electroacoustic music, a composer, a pianist and organist, and a longtime Society for New Music board member and chair of its Israel Prize competition. He received his MFA and DMA degrees from Cornell University, where he studied with Karel Husa and Robert Palmer. Sam was on the music faculty of Hamilton College for nearly 40 years, until his tragic death in a car-bicycle accident. Shortly before his death, Sam completed work on Tower of Voices, a visual and audible reminder of the heroism of the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93 that was hijacked and crashed in Shanksville, PA, on Sept. 11, 2001.
Israel/Pellman Prize Winners
2025
Winner: Ignacio Rosado (SNM),
Edward Lu (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Samane Paya and Zhihao Wang
2024
Winner: Sami Seif (SNM),
Maxim Dybal-Denysenko (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Rolando J. Goméz, Yuxuan Lin
2023
Winner: Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (SNM),
Benjamin Rieke (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Talia Berenbaum, Arjan Singh Dogra, Johnny MacMillan
2022
Winner: Christian-Frédéric Bloquert (SNM),
Alexandros Darna (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Jacob Beranek, Nicolas Farmer, Ziyi Tao
2021
Winner: Yangfan Xu (SNM),
Katie Jenkins (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Alan Hankers, Marc Migo, Ziyi Tao, Horacio Fernández Vázquez
2020
Winner: Alistair Coleman (SNM),
Cheng Jin Koh (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Sato Matsui, Marc Migo, Tanner Porter
2019
Winner: Julian Bennett Holmes (SNM),
Paul Edward Frucht (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Tomek Arnold, Flannery Cunningham, Jonathan Rainous, Zoe Yucong Wang
2018
Winner: Jack Frerer (SNM),
Saad Haddad (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Douglas Hertz, Noah Kahrs, Michael Seltenreich
2017
Winner: Alex Stephenson (SNM),
Simon Frisch (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: James Budinich
2016
Winner: Ryan Chase (SNM),
Kaito Nakahori (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Charles Peck, Zachary Sheets
2015
Winner: Alex Burtzos (SNM),
Scott Etan Feiner (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Bin David Li, J. P. Redmond
2014
Winner: John Liberatore (SNM),
Michael Boyman (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: JunYi Chow, Ross Scott Griffey
2013
Winner: Juan Pablo Contreras (SNM),
Amit Menahem Gilutz (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Eric Allen, Ross Scott Griffey, Nathan Heidelberger
2012
Winner: Ted Goldman (SNM),
Joseph Nathaniel Rubinstein (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Amit Menahem Gilutz, Justin Paul Jaramillo, Brandon Luis Ridenour, Haralabos Stafylakis
2011
Winner: Thomas H. Healy (SNM),
Bret Bohman (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Evan Antonellis, Thomas Arthur Murphy, Jessica Lynn Rudman
2010
Winner: Michael Gilbertson (SNM),
Chris Rogerson (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Evan Antonellis, Lembit Lepasaar Beecher
2009
Winner: David Crowell (SNM),
Samson Young (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Evan Antonellis, Matthew Barson, Elizabeth Lim
2008
Winner: Baljinder Singh Sekhon (SNM),
Eleanor Aversa (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Andy Akiho (SNM 3rd Prize)
Honorable Mention: Dillon Kondor, Gity Razaz, David Salvage, Sheridan Seyfried, Sundar Subramanian, Daniel Wohl, Scott Wollschleger
2007
Winner: Nicholas Omiccioli (SNM),
Eric Nathan (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Eleanor Aversa, Ryan Carter, Jeff Myers, Gity Razaz, Shogo Samata
2006
Winner: Christopher Doll (SNM),
Ryan Gallagher (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: John Paul Brabant, Chris Rogerson, Robert Singley
2005
Winner: Patrick Castillo (SNM),
Eric Schwartz (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: Christopher Tignor
2004
Winner: Adam Schoenberg (SNM),
Jesse Wright-Fitzgerald (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
Honorable Mention: John Arrigo-Nelson, Vera Ivanova, Peter Kim
2003
Winner: Evan Johnson (SNM),
Philip Rothman (NY Federation of Music Clubs)
2002
Winner: Huang Ruo
2001
Winner: Winnie Wing-Yee Cheung
2000
Winner: Mark Dennis McConnell
1999
Winner: Rob Paterson
1998
Winner: Damon Lee
1997
Winner: Derek Bermel
Honorable Mention: Ann Lathan Kerzner
1996
Winner: Yuzuru Sadashige
1995
Winner: Anna Weesner
1994
Winner: Michael Sidney Timpson
1993
Winner: Sally Lamb McCune
Honorable Mention: David Lefkowitz
1992
Winner: Michele Frida Green
Honorable Mention: David Lefkowitz
1991
Winner: Kent Marks
Honorable Mention: Nolan Gasser
1990
Winner: Alton Howe Clingan
Honorable Mention: Sean MacLean
1989
Winner: Betsy L. Schramm
Honorable Mention: Stephen Taylor
1988
Winner: Ronn Yedidia
1987
Winner: Christopher Keyes
Honorable Mention: Jeremy Beck, Robert C. May
1986
Winner: Donald Sloan
Honorable Mention: Linda Bouchard, Lowell Liebermann
1985
Winner: Matthew Harris
Honorable Mention: Dan May, Michael Torke