Joel Pierson (D.M.A. Composition '14) Is Second-Place Winner in New York Philharmonic Composition Challenge

Pierson is a second-place winner in the New York Philharmonic’s "New World" Composition Challenge for his piece, "Afternoon on a Hill."

Joel Pierson (D.M.A. Composition, ‘14) is a second-prize winner in the New York Philharmonic’s New World Composition Challenge for his piece, Afternoon on a Hill. An initiative of the Philharmonic’s 175^th anniversary season, the Composition Challenge invited New York City–based composers to create works that contained or referenced themes from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World.

Among other recent accomplishments, Pierson and his ensemble, The Queen’s Cartoonists, opened for the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks. The Queen’s Cartoonists are a jazz band dedicated to the preservation and performance of music from classic cartoons.

Watch performances by Pierson and The Queen’s Cartoonists here.