Welcome to the
Pikes Peak Young Composers Website
NATIONAL REPERTORY ORCHESTRA PERFORMS COMPOSER’S ORIGINAL MUSIC
Kyle Duffee won 1st place in the PPYC Orchestral Overture Division in his age category (ages 16-18). His original composition “Paean�was performed by the National Repertory Orchestra on Saturday, July 9th at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, CO. PPYC Executive and Artistic Director Leonard Rhodes collaborated with Julie Chandler, NRO Development Director and Carl Topilow, NRO Music Director and Conductor to create a new PPYC category that would provide a platform for original orchestral compositions from the Pikes Peak Young Composers Annual Competition to be performed.
“A large part of PPYC’s mission is to provide a platform for performance,�Rhodes says. “This collaboration with the NRO provides a rare opportunity for composers to have their works performed by a significant orchestra.� Rhodes attributes the widespread interest in PPYC due to the competition’s reputation for excellence and the quality of its judging panel evaluations. “These young people are looking for serious critiquing from our judges� says Rhodes, “they really want to know how they can improve.�
PPYC was founded by Rhodes in 1995 initially as a regional competition that quickly gained interest from young composers throughout the state of Colorado. With the introduction of its website in 1999, PPYC opened up the competition internationally and today receives entries from throughout the US, Hong Kong, Chile, Canada, and the UK.