The 2025 American Piano Awards will debut commissioned composer Brittany J. Green’s “daffodils” during the finals on April 4-5.
North Carolina-based composer Brittany J. Green said her first memories of music came from going to church with her mother before she formally studied clarinet, music theory, and composition beginning in middle school. Now, the music educator turned composer has been selected to write a composition for the 2025 American Piano Awards.
“We were drawn to Brittany J. Green for the same reasons we’re drawn to our pianists — she’s imaginative, bold, and shaping the future of American music,” American Piano Awards president and CEO Chris Williams said in a statement. “Her compositions bring a fresh perspective to the classical genre, and we’re honored to support her voice through this commission.”
As a musician, educator and composer, Green said those three facets of her life intersect in a beautiful way. Teaching forces her to look at concepts like harmony or melody from a different lens in order to reach her students — which in turn helps her compose and play her own pieces.
When Green was first commissioned by the American Piano Awards, she said the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
As a musician, Green had been finding her way back to writing piano music, and working on “daffodils” — the commissioned piece for the finalists to perform for the 2025 American Piano Awards — was an ideal way to not only write a new piece but connect with “superstar pianists” and young artists.
“It’ll be really exciting to hear how each person interprets the piece and what they do similarly and what they do differently,” Green said. “It’s just been a dream of a collaboration so far.”
Inspired by e. e. cummings’ poem “in the time of daffodils,” Green’s piano suite “daffodils” explores themes of growing, dreaming, loving, seeking and letting go.
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“I was thinking about my own musical journey,” Green said. “How I’ve grown as a musician, times where music has felt like this whimsical, anything-is-possible space for me; that journey of seeking as a musician; trying to seek understanding, seeking to build connections and connect with folks and build community.”
The piece is also influenced by the mentors and teachers who help shape young musicians into who they are, Green said. The piece even features two movements dedicated to her own mentors — inspired by two stanzas in cummings’ poem.
Following a 3-month long competition, each of the five finalists — Michael Davidman, Avery Gagliano, Sasha Kasman Laude, Elliot Wuu and Angie Zhang — will perform “daffodils” during finals week March 31-April 4. At the end of which, a winner will be awarded the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship, which is only given to an American classical pianist every four years.
Considering the American Piano Awards highlights up-and-coming artists who are “on the cusp of the next big turn in their career,” the inspiration for “daffodils” centering around the musical journey and mentorship seemed fitting, Green said.
“There are some sections that are a little open-ended in terms of expressive possibilities,” Green said. “It’ll be really interesting to see how some of the musical ideas in that (first) movement in particular come to life.”
The 2025 American Piano Awards Finals with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra takes place at 7 p.m. on April 4 and 5:30 p.m. on 5 at Hilbert Circle Theatre. For more information, visit pianoawards.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and her previous work includes freelancing for Indy Maven, Assistant Arts & Life Editor for The Lantern, and editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Chloe enjoys covering all things arts and culture — from local music, visual art, dance, theater and film, as well as minority-owned businesses. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, cooking and keeping her plants alive.
