Tom Cipullo Wins Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize for New Work, 'Mayo'

SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music Awards 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize to Composer and Librettist Tom Cipullo

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Crane School of Music faculty and student musicians gathered with composer Tom Cipullo following a workshop performance of his new work, “Mayo.” For full caption, see release. (Photo: Johnna Bernard).

POTSDAM, NY (09/29/2016)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music is proud to announce the winner of the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize, following the competition finals, which were held last weekend.

Noted composer Tom Cipullo was selected as the recipient of the Pellicciotti Prize for his new opera, "Mayo." Cipullo also wrote the libretto for the new work, which tells of America's tragic infatuation with eugenics in the early 20th century. Based on a true story, the opera follows the life of Mayo Buckner, who was committed to the Iowa Home for Feeble-Minded Children at the age of eight, and forged a life of quiet dignity and meaning while living there for the next 60 years.

"'Mayo' is a gripping story that cries out for music, and, in its evocation of a person seen as an outsider by society, perfectly fulfills the mission of the Pellicciotti Prize," said selection panel member and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell.

Cipullo will receive a $25,000 commission to complete the new work, which will premiere in November 2018, with a full production at The Crane School of Music by the award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble and Orchestra.

The Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize was founded by Dr. Gary C. Jaquay '67 to honor his life partner, Domenic J. Pellicciotti, an ardent fan of opera. The award seeks to encourage and acknowledge the creation of new opera works that explore themes related to tolerance, inclusion or the celebration of diversity. The Pellicciotti Prize is awarded every four years.

"With this announcement of the second Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize winner, we can confidently say that the impact of this major competition has become national in scope, is significant in its cultivation of new work and is strongly tied to the educational mission of our institution. We are gratified by the unique achievement Dr. Gary Jacquay's gift represents, not only for Crane's students and faculty, but for opera in higher education and for living operatic art, as it finds new audiences and speaks to a new generation on themes that are both timeless and absolutely timely. We believe that Tom Cipullo's forthcoming work, 'Mayo,' will represent another important addition to the American operatic repertoire," said Crane School of Music Dean Dr. Michael Sitton.

During the recent competition finals, the Crane Opera Ensemble joined with Crane faculty artists to present commissioned scenes from each of the four finalists in a public performance on Sept. 24. The other finalists included "Albert Nobbs," composed by Patrick Soluri, with libretto by Deborah Brevoort; "The Reef," composed by Anthony Davis, with libretto by Joan Ross Sorkin, and "Uncovered," composed by Lori Laitman, with libretto by Leah Lax.

"It was such a privilege for the Crane Opera Ensemble to premiere the excerpted scenes from each of the four selected finalists. We were incredibly impressed with the submissions and the way they each connected to the themes of the Pellicciotti competition, and hope that all of the composers and librettists will complete their works and get them produced," said Crane School of Music Professor Dr. Kirk Severtson, the music director of the Crane Opera Ensemble. "We look forward to working toward the premiere of 'Mayo' in 2018!"

Noted American dramaturg Cori Ellison worked with the composers and librettists chosen as finalists, and will continue to collaborate with Cipullo as he completes his opera project. A leading creative figure in the opera world, she is currently staff dramaturg at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and was dramaturg at New York City Opera from 1997 to 2010. Active in developing new opera, Ellison teaches opera dramaturgy for the American Lyric Theater Composer Librettist Development Program and serves as a freelance dramaturg for companies including Opera Philadelphia, Canadian Opera and Beth Morrison Projects.

The selection panel for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize included:

  • Mark Campbell, award-winning opera librettist and winner (along with composer Martin Hennessey) of the 2014 Pellicciotti Prize for "A Letter to East 11th Street";
  • Dr. François Germain, vocal coach and piano faculty member at The Crane School of Music/vocal coach at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music in Salzburg, Austria;
  • Dr. Carleen Graham, former SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and director of the Crane Opera Ensemble/current director of HGOco at Houston Grand Opera;
  • Nicole Paiement, conductor, founder and artistic director of Opera Parallèle and principal guest conductor for the Dallas Opera;
  • Dr. Kirk Severtson, professor and music director of the Crane Opera Ensemble;
  • Dr. Timothy Sullivan, associate professor and chair of the Department of Music Theory, History and Composition at The Crane School of Music, and
  • Darren Keith Woods, general director of Fort Worth Opera.

Group photo caption: Crane faculty and student musicians gathered for a photo with Cipullo following the workshop performance of "Mayo." They included, from left: soprano Colleen Skull, baritone Jonathan Stinson, baritone David Pittman-Jennings, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Yaros Sullivan, tenor Kirk McAuliffe, music director Kirk Severtson, baritone Faraz Ardalan, tenor Sean Fahy, consulting dramaturg Cori Ellison, tenor Lonel Woods, baritone Wesly Clerge and composer/librettist Tom Cipullo.

About the composer:

Hailed by the American Academy of Art & Letters for music that displays "inexhaustible imagination, wit, expressive range and originality," works by composer Tom Cipullo are performed regularly throughout the United States and with increasing frequency internationally. The winner of a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2013 Sylvia Goldstein Award from Copland House and the 2013 Arts & Letters Award from the American Academy, Cipullo has received commissions from SongFest, the New York Festival of Song, Music of Remembrance, the Mirror Visions Ensemble, Joy in Singing, Sequitur, Cantori New York, tenor Paul Sperry, mezzo-soprano Mary Ann Hart, the Five Boroughs Music Festival, pianist Jeanne Golan, soprano Martha Guth, the Walt Whitman Project, baritone Jesse Blumberg and many others. He has received multiple fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, as well as awards from the Liguria Study Center (Italy), the Fundacion Valparaiso (Spain), the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus (Germany) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The New York Times has called his music "intriguing and unconventional," and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has called Cipullo "an expert in writing for the voice." Other honors include the Minneapolis Pops New Orchestral Repertoire Award (2009) for "Sparkler," the National Association of Teachers of Singing Art Song Award (2008) for the song cycle "Of A Certain Age" and the Phyllis Wattis Prize (2006) from the San Francisco Song Festival for "Drifts & Shadows." Cipullo's song cycles, "A Visit with Emily," "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House" and "Of A Certain Age," are published by Oxford University Press. Other works are distributed by Classical Vocal Reprints. Cipullo's music has been recorded on the Albany, CRI, PGM, MSR Classics, GPR, Centaur and Capstone labels.

North Country Public Radio was the media sponsor for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize competition finals.

To learn more about the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize, visit www.potsdam.edu/pellicciotti.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

About the Crane Opera Ensemble:

The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble is a significant source for opera and music theatre in the North Country region of New York State. The ensemble provides exciting opportunities for students to experience all facets of opera performance and production, through rehearsals, coaching and classes related to performance practices and production techniques. The ensemble's productions have garnered awards from the National Opera Association (2015, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2003), The American Prize (2011), and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (2010).

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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