Ruane ’27 Awarded 2025 William Averitt Prize for Excellence in Composition
Erik Ruane ’27 (Bachelor of Music in Composition) was awarded the 2025 William Averitt Prize for Excellence in Composition for his wind ensemble work, “Hymn of the Fallen.” The piece will be performed by the Wind Ensemble during the Conservatory Performs 2025/26 season.
“I am honored to receive this prize and represent the music composition studio for my piece ‘Hymn of the Fallen,’ and to have it performed in the conservatory’s own Wind Ensemble as part of their program,” said Ruane. “This piece is the joining of the kind of music I’ve always wanted to write with the kind of music I’m learning to write, and marks a personal accomplishment of returning to my collegiate career stronger than ever after an unexpected break.”
“I would like to thank Juan Domínguez, professor Jonathan Newman, and Dr. Tim Robblee for their excellent help with bringing this piece to its fullest potential, as well as being the forces that brought my collegiate musicianship to where it is today,” continued Ruane. “I also want to thank Reeve Thomas for giving me the opportunity to write this piece for my fellow colleagues in his ShenCoLAB project, and I want to thank all of the collaborative performers that realized this piece with their wonderful sound.”
The William Averitt Prize for Excellence in Composition is awarded each year to an outstanding undergraduate student in the composition program at Shenandoah Conservatory. Named in honor of Professor Emeritus William Averitt, one of the founders of the program in composition at Shenandoah, this award recognizes outstanding talent in composition at Shenandoah Conservatory. All works submitted for composition juries throughout each academic year are eligible, and are judged based on:
- Excellence of compositional craft;
- Artistry and creativeness of ideas; and
- Clarity of execution in score preparation
Faculty review all of the year’s jury scores and submitted works, and select a single composer/work, by consensus, to be awarded the prize. The award is officially announced at the annual end-of-year Shenandoah Conservatory Honors Recital. Winners receive a certificate of achievement and a performance of the winning work by a Shenandoah Conservatory ensemble.
