Pre-College Composition student Ethan Liao, 15, hit a home run on his first at bat this year when he submitted his first-ever big-band jazz chart to the Essentially Ellington Composition Competition held by Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. The piece was awarded first prize, and soon he’ll be traveling to New York to hear his chart recorded by one of the best working jazz orchestras in the country.

High-school freshman Ethan says he grew up in a more classical-focused environment, only beginning to take a closer look at jazz in seventh grade. “At that point, I had been composing for a year or two,” he says, “and I had already graduated from solo pieces, and now I was ready to start working on trios and quartets and more complicated ensembles.”

He joined SFCM’s Pre-College largely because, he says, “I wanted to see how other kids composed. A huge aspect of why I love the composition seminar class is because I get to see all of these other amazing kids' compositional styles and techniques.” Ethan also cites his other SFCM teachers like Terrence Brewer and Ken French with helping him get deeper into jazz.

Praising the community that the Pre-College Composition department offers, he adds, “It's really fun seeing a similar process going on in their heads of how they build a piece from the ground up. That's been very instructive for me in seeing how I can improve my own compositional abilities. I would say I've taken quite a lot of inspiration from them.”

Liao’s Pre-College professor, Aaron Pike, says the competition, let alone the win, was a surprise from Ethan: “I don’t remember him specifically mentioning the competition when we were working on the piece in lessons, so when I found out he’d not only won but that it would be performed at Lincoln Center, it was such an exciting moment. It's an amazing opportunity, and I'm really proud of Ethan."

“When a student brings in a piece, I really try to push them to explore something new—different textures, unfamiliar instrumentations, and making sure each individual line has its own life,” Pike adds. “Ethan impressed me early on. His music already has a sense of direction and depth that goes beyond what you’d expect from a high school composer.”

“I've kind of worked in tandem in both jazz and classical,” Ethan says of his composition journey. “I was working on piano lead sheets and around the same time I was working on a duet for piano and violin. The winning piece was one of my first times fully writing out lines for brass and winds in the context of jazz. I've used those families of instruments before once or twice in classical composition, but now I’m thinking of going to bigger and bigger ensembles.”

As winner of the Essentially Ellington Composition contest, Ethan will receive a $1,000 cash prize and a composition lesson with Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra saxophonist and arranger Ted Nash, and will be flown to New York to see JLCO record their piece in May.

Despite his tremendous start, Ethan has no plans to slow down. He’s set to write for both of the high-school jazz ensembles he plays in: One big-band chart and some smaller combo pieces. His teacher there, Terrence Brewer, who also teaches in the Conservatory Pre-College, has been supportive and helped expand Ethan's exposure to how jazz ensembles play and grow. “Now I just have to write them,” Ethan says. He’s off to a good start.

Learn more about SFCM’s Pre-College program.