Faith Gammel
Reporter

MUW students Hannah Heaton and Biraj Adhikari received awards after competing in the Mississippi Music Teachers’ Association (MMTA) Young Artist’s Division Composition Competition. Both students submitted music scores to the competition, and were later informed of their rankings.

Heaton, a sophomore, was ranked first in the state of Mississippi for the submission of her piece, “Out of Reach,” which is a piano and violin duet. Heaton was recognized at the program “New Music At The W,” where she performed her piece onstage.

“I didn’t even know that I won anything until Dr. Mortyakova told me, but I was absolutely ecstatic. I could hardly believe what was happening, I was bouncing all over the place. I felt kind of proud of myself. It was the first thing I’d ever written, so I didn’t expect it to win anything, much less first place,” Heaton stated.

Adhikari, a senior, was given the honorable mention award for the submission of his piece, “Journey,” a string quartet. He was also recognized by the university, and his piece was played in Jackson by the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

“When I found out that I won, I felt incredibly excited. I also felt very motivated to continue composing, and I felt like I had truly accomplished something. I also feel like I’ve truly learned how to follow projects through to completion,” Adhikari said.

Both students said that they believed that Dr. Joe Alexander, alongside Dr. Valentin Bogdan and Dr. Julia Mortyakova, were largely influential in helping them be able to compose their award-winning pieces. The faculty members were credited with providing support and encouragement to the students, and they said that Alexander guided them throughout the process of learning the technicalities of composition, as well as helped them correct their pieces.

Heaton will go on to compete in the regional competition against the winners from the surrounding Southern states.