Caritas International 

Emerging Composer 

Competition 2019

Andrew Egan, from Toowoomba, Australia, is this year’s winner with his composition Submerged Citadel

The final of this year’s competition took place at The Colyer-Fergusson Hall, University of Kent, Canterbury on Saturday July 13th. Caritas Chamber Choir will make a professional recording of the winning entry later in the year.

The theme for 2019 was The Sea, and Andrew Egan (right) won with his composition Submerged Citadel. Andrew graduated from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), in Toowoomba, Australia, having completed a Bachelor of Music degree, majoring in piano under the tutelage of Mrs Wendy Lorenz. On graduation he was the recipient of the USQ’s ‘Most Outstanding Performer’ and ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ awards. 

Andrew has long been involved in the Toowoomba music scene as an accompanist and performer and is the principal pianist for the Toowoomba Choral Society Choir. In addition, he is an avid contemporary classical composer. Three of his works The Argument for piano four hands (2010), The Rooftop Child for tenor and piano (2017), and Winter’s Elegy for cello and piano (2018), were recently premiered in Toowoomba.

You can hear Submerged Citadel on YouTube.

Our judge for 2019

David Conte returned as our 2019 judge. He has composed over one hundred works, all published by E. C. Schirmer Music Publishing, including six operas and a musical, as well as works for chorus, solo voice, orchestra, chamber music, organ, piano, guitar, and harp. He has composed songs for singers Barbara Bonney, Thomas Hampson, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Catherine Cook, Marnie Breckenridge, and Brian Thorsett, and his work is represented on many commercial CD recordings. 

Find out more about David at his official web site, www.davidconte.net.