Made in the USA - Concert on April 9, 2026

 Made in the USA Explores New Symphonic Music

by Amy Gold, OSU Manager

Wonderful new music comes your way on April 9 at the Heritage Center, 7:30 p.m.  Six young composers premiere their work from the Hal Campbell Young Composer Contest plus Bernstein's Overture to Candide and American Dance Suite by Keith Bradshaw. The "Made in the USA" concert is presented by the Orchestra of Southern Utah. Tickets are $15 with students at $10. Tickets available at myosu.org.

The Hal Campbell Young Composer Concert shines a spotlight on the future of music by showcasing original works from emerging composers. Held in honor of the beloved Hal Campbell, educator, composer, and former OSU conductor, this biennual event invites young talents from across the nation to submit their compositions for the chance to be performed by a full symphonic orchestra. It’s a powerful evening of creativity and discovery, honoring Campbell’s legacy of mentorship while giving voice to the next generation composers. Come experience new sounds, all proudly Made in the USA. Join us after the concert in the lobby for the season closing social.

Chandler Crawford composed A Guiding Star Over Zion inspired by the sight of Venus glowing through a Western sunset. The Canyon View High School junior is a cellist in OSU. In addition, he serves as the rhythm section leader for Jazz Band on the piano, leads the bass drums in the school’s state-champion Marching Band, and performs on bassoon and trombone. He also leads the bass section in the school’s Madrigal Choir.

The Adventures in Yosemite by Landon Fowles is inspired by this year’s theme, “America’s Soundtrack”. It is primarily based on one of America’s greatest national parks, Yosemite.  He is currently in his senior year, studying Music Education at SUU and will graduate fall 2026. Landon has also scored a multitude of short films.

Clearwind Suite by Talmage Sell is an animated series concept set 100 years in the future after a large-scale North American civil war. The composer from Mesa, Arizona, is currently studying Commercial Music at Brigham Young University with an emphasis in film scoring. He began playing piano at the age of five and later took up cello during high school.

Taylor Shamrell composed A Voice Still Rises. He is a student at Southern Utah University, pursuing degrees in both Accounting and Commercial Music. He looks forward to graduating at the end of April 2026. Along with composition and accounting he plays the trumpet.

Trek by Isaac John Sumner is heavily inspired by American film composers, such as James Newton Howard, Jerry Goldsmith, and, of course, John Williams. "The main feeling of this piece I had while writing was a sense of grand adventure," said Sumner. The composer is from St. George and currently resides in Cedar City. He is best known for his work on the short film Sage Hen which has recently been traveling the country at film festivals from New York to L.A.

The New Road by Daniel Streeter is inspired by the great American achievement of the transcontinental railroad. It was written to capture the excitement of the frontier while encompassing the feeling and rhythm of a steam locomotive. He has participated in several musical programs, playing piano for his school jazz band, and performing with Caleb Chapman's Soundhouse. He is currently studying engineering at Brigham Young University.

OSU Music Director Carylee Zwang conducts the new compositions as well as the American Dance Suite by Keith Bradshaw. Five distinctly American dances from a jitterbug to a barn dance explore the range of American music. Bradshaw is the Associate Dean of the SUU College of Visual and Performing Arts. 

David Jordan, Assistant Conductor, directs the iconic Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein. It remains a testament to Bernstein’s unique voice—joyful, intelligent, and irresistibly energetic.

Lobby music sets the tone before the concert with vocalist Carrington Bonner.

No babies or small children please, as the concert is recorded.  Children over six welcome with adult supervision.

 

"These young composers have created melodic and exciting music for your enjoyment," said Harold Shirley, OSU President. "Join us after the concert in the lobby for the season closing social."

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Who: Orchestra of Southern Utah

What: Hal Campbell Young Composer Concert: Made in America

When: April 9, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Heritage Center Theater, Cedar City

Why: To celebrate and encourage young composers

How: Full symphony orchestra performs premieres of new music plus music by Bernstein and Bradshaw, tickets at myosu.org

More information: Amy Gold 435-233-8185

Short Description: Made in the USA: The Hal Campbell Young Composer Concert shines a spotlight on the future of music by showcasing original works from emerging composers. Held in honor of the beloved Hal Campbell, educator, composer, and former OSU conductor, this biennual event invites young talents from across the nation to submit their compositions for the chance to be performed by a full symphonic orchestra. It’s a powerful evening of creativity and discovery, honoring Campbell’s legacy of mentorship while giving voice to the next generation composers. Come experience new sounds, all proudly Made in the USA.Join us after the concert in the lobby for the season closing social.This calendar listing is brought to you by NowPlayingUtah.com, Utah's one-stop, online website for arts and entertainment events, powered by the Utah Cultural Alliance.

Full Bios:

Chandler Crawford

Now a junior at Canyon View High School, Chandler Crawford has built his musicianship through a mix of self-teaching, curiosity, and the guidance of teachers who helped shape his path, including Teresa Redd, Will Zeller, and Alex Byers.

Chandler is an active performer across several ensembles. He leads the cello section in the Canyon View Philharmonic Orchestra, plays with the Orchestra of Southern Utah, and earned Superior ratings at the 2025 Utah Region and State Solo & Ensemble Festival, and 2026 Region. He also serves as rhythm section leader for Jazz Band on the piano, leads the bass drums in the school’s state-champion Marching Band, and performs on bassoon and trombone. In addition, he leads the bass section in the school’s Madrigal Choir.

Beyond performing, Chandler is a dedicated young composer whose original works and arrangements have been featured annually by the Canyon View music program. His interest in teaching and musical leadership has also led him to assistant-conduct ensembles at Canyon View Middle School.

He plans to continue that path by becoming a high school band and orchestra director, hoping to inspire future students through the same passion that has guided his own musical journey.

Landon Fowles

Born in American Fork, Utah in 2004, Landon Fowles grew up in Eagle Mountain. In seventh grade, he began playing the trumpet. He joined the Westlake High School Marching Band in his ninth-grade year, while still attending middle school. Landon was a founding member of the Cedar Valley High School’s Crimson Regiment, starting his time there as a section leader. While in high school, Landon was a featured soloist countless times in the wind symphony as well as the marching band. During his senior year in high school, Landon started arranging music for marching band/pep band and brass quintet. He was also selected to participate in the All State Wind Symphony as well as being awarded the John Philip Sousa Band Award. Following high school, Landon earned the Presidential Music Scholarship to attend Southern Utah University. He started composing music during his freshman year of college and has since won two awards for his compositions. He received “best original score” in the SUU Spring Art Competition. He was also selected as one of the winners of the Hal Campbell Young Composer Contest in 2023/2024. In March of 2024 he competed with the SUU Trumpet Ensemble in the National Trumpet Competition, making it to the quarter finals. He is currently in his senior year, studying Music Education at SUU and will graduate fall 2026. Landon has scored a multitude of short films, including some of which he produced. He aspires to be a music educator, film composer, and professional trumpet player.

Talmage Sell

Talmage is a composer from Mesa, Arizona, currently studying Commercial Music at Brigham Young University with an emphasis in film scoring. He began playing piano at the age of five and later took up cello during high school, performing in both his school orchestra and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.

Composing since the age of twelve, Talmage developed a strong passion for writing music near the end of high school and has continued to refine his craft ever since. He currently serves as co-composer for BYU’s 2026 Animation Capstone short film and is also developing several other projects, including a musical and various personal compositions. Outside of music, Talmage enjoys writing stories and studying languages.

Taylor Shamrell

Taylor Shamrell is a student at Southern Utah University, pursuing degrees in both Accounting and Commercial Music. He looks forward to graduating at the end of April 2026. Along with composition and accounting he has continued to play the trumpet. Throughout his studies at SUU, Taylor has performed with many of the universities’ ensembles including the Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble 1. After graduation, Taylor plans to move to Logan, UT with his wife Hannah where he recently accepted a position at an accounting firm. Taylor plans to continue his education by receiving a Master of Accountancy through SUU online in preparation to receive his CPA license. Taylor anticipates performing with bands and orchestras throughout Utah and composing music for orchestra.

Daniel Streeter

Daniel has loved music his entire life. He has participated in several musical programs, playing piano for his school jazz band and with Caleb Chapman's Soundhouse. He is currently studying engineering at Brigham Young University. In his free time, he enjoys writing music, playing the piano, reading, playing sports, and spending time with his family.

Isaac Sumner

Isaac Sumner is a composer from St.George Utah, currently residing in Cedar City, He is best known for his work on the short film Sage Hen which has recently been traveling the country at film festivals from New York to L.A.

Keith Bradshaw

Dr. Keith M. Bradshaw serves as Associate Dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts and Professor of Music at Southern Utah University. He teaches courses in music theory, aural skills, analysis, composition, and orchestration. He received his Ph.D. in composition from the University of Minnesota, and his M.M. and B.M. from Brigham Young University. Prior to coming to SUU, he founded the music program at Southern Virginia University, and served as chair of the division of arts. Compositionally his music is contemporary but accessible, and has been performed nationally and internationally. He has received numerous commissions and awards for his compositions, including a fellowship from the McKnight Foundation, two commissions from the Barlow Endowment, and winning the national “Welcome Christmas” Christmas carol contest from the American Composers Forum. He is the former composer-in-residence with the Orchestra of Southern Utah.  In addition to composition, Dr. Bradshaw is the founding director of the Red Rock Singers, a mixed choir of 40 voices in Cedar City, Utah, and has conducted various college and community choirs.

Honorable Mentions

The Veil

Anson Baliel

Venture Undertaken

Zach Allred got his first experience with music in the 6th grade, when he started playing the trumpet, and later the french horn. He also got to experience the joy of creating music when, for an assignment in a class, he composed a work for solo piano. Since then he's loved creating music for any and all ensembles, including concert band, chamber ensembles, and solo works. His piece, Venture Undertaken, was his first experience writing for a full orchestra, for which he is grateful for the opportunity. Zach finds his greatest joy in creating music, and finds his inspiration in his friends and family. 

Galactic Chaconne

Matthew Nell is a pianist and percussionist composer studying at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In his music, he is most concerned with enjoyment, interest, and beauty. Matthew blends conventional and modern techniques to write music that strikes a balance between familiarity and novelty, composing for a diverse array of idioms. Among his accomplishments are the 2026 QUO Vanguard Composer Competition, 2023 Barbara Buehlman Prize, 2023 TAPS competition, and 2019 Texas Emerging Composers Competition. Performers of his work include the Westwood High School Wind Ensemble, Austin POPS orchestra, UT Lab Orchestra, and Queer Urban Orchestra. His composition teachers include Donald Grantham, Omar Thomas, and Viet Cuong, and he has studied piano under Patti Wolf and Timothy Hoft.

Born Ready

Bryan Welton

Bryan L. Welton III (b. 2001) is a conductor, composer, percussionist, and software engineer from Lake Oswego, Oregon. He graduated from BYU–Idaho with a Bachelor's of Science in Software Engineering and double minored in Music and Chinese Language. 

As a composer, he creates music that portrays strong emotions and feelings, drawing heavy inspiration from cinema scores. He has been composing for most of his life and has studied composition in his free time under many great teachers. His goal with each composition is to leave both listeners and players feeling like they’ve been on an emotional journey or have learned something deeper about life. His motto with composition is “I’ll never write a piece that doesn’t have a point”

As a percussionist, he has played with high school groups and community theaters, and has toured nationally with his university’s Symphony Band and Symphony Orchestra.

He has written many compositions for various ensemble types, including solo piano, string quintet, marching drum corps, indoor percussion, wind ensemble, concert band, choir, and more.

Nightshade

Dash Wilson (b. 02.29.2008) is a Chicago-based composer, oboist, and pianist. He serves as jazz pianist and first chair oboist for the Victor J. Andrew High School Wind Symphony and Jazz Band, and he performs oboe and English horn with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and CYSO Wind Quintet.

Dash has received top honors in national and international composition competitions, including First Place in the Illinois Young Composer and the ILMEA Senior Small Ensemble Composition Contests, and Grand Prize in the Los Angeles International Online Music Competition. In 2023, he was named Artist of the Year by IYMC. In 2024, he participated in a Berklee and Colburn School of Music summer intensive, taking masterclasses with Hollywood composers and scoring scenes for a Star Wars video game. He is honored and delighted to receive an Honorable Mention in the 2025/26 Hal Campbell Young Composer Contest. Hear his music at www.dashwilson.com

In Search of Simorgh
Amirhossein Zeinali (b. 2000) is an Iranian composer whose work explores the intersection of Persian musical traditions and Western contemporary compositional practices, crafting a personal and intercultural artistic voice. His music has been featured at events such as The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States Conference (SEAMUS), The New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF), and The Sunset ChamberFest, and one of his orchestral works was performed by the Utah Philharmonia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in composition from the Art University of Isfahan and a master’s degree in music composition from the University of Utah.