Finalist: Quartet, by Michael Gilbertson

The works of Michael Gilbertson (b.1987) have been described as "elegant" and "particularly beautiful" by The New York Times, "vivid, tightly woven" and "delectably subtle" by the Baltimore Sun, and "genuinely moving" by the Washington Post. He studied composition at The Juilliard School and at the Yale School of Music. Gilbertson’s works have been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Pittsburgh Symphony, Washington National Opera, Albany Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Symphony in C, New England Philharmonic, Lafayette Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Cheyenne Symphony, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Sybarite5, Verona Quartet, WindSync, and professional choirs including Musica Sacra, The Crossing, and The Esoterics. In March, 2016, he was Musical America’s featured New Artist of the Month. Since 2009 Michael has served as artistic director of ChamberFest Dubuque, an annual music festival he founded to bring classical artists to his hometown for concerts, educational outreach, and to raise money for community music education. Since fall 2017, Michael has begun his three-year tenure as Composer-in-Residence with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. He is currently on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory.