Composers

Colin Breen is an Omaha-based composer and performer. His entry in the 2007 competition was Meet George.

Hermes Camacho is a native of northern Californian who currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Jaclyn. Hermes won the 2008 competition with his entry, Impressions of Wallpaper.

Mark Diischer is a graduate student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He won 2nd Prize in the 2007 competition with Jetting Atmospheres.

Luke Furman studied composition under Lance Hulme, Marvin Lamb, and Konstantinos Karathanasis at the University of Oklahoma. He won the original Iron Composer competition with his piece Propeller Z.

David Von Kampen studied at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has been commissioned by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. He won 3rd Prize in the 2007 competition with In the Sky.

George Lam George is the director of the Duke New Music Ensemble, and is a founding co-artistic director of Rhymes With Opera, a new opera company dedicated to bringing new works of music-theater into unconventional spaces. He competed in 2008.

Elizabeth Lim is currently a first-year graduate student at the Juilliard School, where she is studying composition with Samuel Adler. She won 2nd Prize in the 2008 competition, in addition to taking home the Audience Favorite Award.

Greg Simon, composer and jazz trumpeter, holds a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound and is currently a graduate teaching fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He won 3rd Prize in the 2008 competition.

Joseph Trapanese serves as a lecturer of electronic music composition at California State University and UCLA in addition to actively working on music for films and television. He competed in the 2008 competition.

Timothy Vallier competed in 2007 with his piece Glass Factory. He currently lives with his wife in Omaha while he completes his graduate studies in composition and voice at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Performers

ANALOG arts ensemble is the performing arm of ANALOG. As a collective of artists, ANALOG is able to shape-shift for concert events, and in 2007, it performed as a wind quintet for the first Iron Composer competition.

Monument Piano Trio performed for Iron Composer in 2008 as part of their residency at ARTSaha!. Monument Trio is based in Baltimore, where its members perform with the Baltimore Symphony.

Judges

James Arey is a composer and music director of KVNO, Omaha’s classical music station. Arey judged the 2008 competition.

William Dougherty is the Ellis and Nelle Levitt Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Drake University. He served as the composer judge in 2007.

Bob Fischbach is a columnist and movie critic for the Omaha World-Herald. He served as the non-specialist judge in 2008.

David Gompper is Professor of Composition and Director of the Center for New Music at the University of Iowa. He judged the 2008 competition.

John Klinghammer served as the performer judge in 2007. He is a clarinetist in the Omaha Symphony and Orion Trio, in addition to being an ANALOG member.

Thomas Wilkins is Music Director of the Omaha Symphony, Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He judged the 2007 competition.

Emcees

Hal France is a sought after opera conductor. Since his tenure as artistic director of Opera Omaha, he has been serving as exective director of Kaneko. He emceed the 2007 competition, and narrated Berio’s Opus Number Zoo on the same concert.

Rob McCartney has anchored KETV’s evening news since 1995. He emceed the 2008 competition.