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Attached is my submission to the "From Nothing, to Something" Summer 2026 Composition Competition Submission. I decided to set Verlaine's original French poem for two vocalists (solo soprano and solo tenor). To fit the French vibes, I rounded out the ensemble with a trio of flute, viola, and harp. The French sound I continued into parts of the harmony, opening with chords mostly made out of whole tone scales. As for form, the tenor takes the firs stanza, the soprano second with a mixed around order of phrases, and then they sing primarily together for the final stanza. I was composing this with professional players in mind, so the parts are of a higher difficulty level. Program Note: This setting, originally created for the Young Composers Forum "From Nothing, to Something" Summer 2026 Composition Competition, casts a different light on Paul Verlaine’s summer love poem, Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été. With the challenge being to capture the sensation of summer, I hoped to focus in on liminal moments throughout the season. The two vocalists, being the depicted couple in Verlaine's poem, first sing individually to each other, telling of the fleeting beauty and pleasure found in a summer love. Finally the two join together in harmony, as the stars look down gently on husband and wife. Devor - Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été_FINAL.mp3 Devor - Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été_FINAL.pdf

Down to the wire, but I just finished and uploaded my submission!

Hello, I tried playing with the sheet music and I'm not sure if your recording is the same as the sheets. It definitely deviates after the repeat. Personally, I find measure 13-16 too repetitive. I think I get what you are going for, with the building of the tension, but it just doesn't good (to me). My ears want to have some variation. Also I think the notation does not match what the mp3 is playing here. I like the mp3 better than the notation. It gets really weird at 0:59 in the recording. I guess it all depends on the direction you want to take the piece in. Whenever I get stuck, I try things like: 1) Doing the same thing in a minor key 2) throwing in a key change 3) reversing the theme, so it sounds completely different 4) depending on the piece, I sometimes like to take tidbits from the theme and make a new theme. For one of my pieces which had a passage that was 8 bars long, I just took the first note of each passage, which created a new musical idea consisting of 8 notes. So that was fun and worked well. 5) Give the left hand something interesting to do, perhaps move the theme there, or change the accompaniment. I always try to understand my music. Maybe this sounds kinda weird, since I'm also writing it... but I don't assume that I understand the music that I am writing. I figure that if I truly understand my music then I can understand where the music will naturally go. I realize that this advice is not very tangible but this is the most honest answer for what I do when I feel stuck. I'm sure some of the more classically inclined musicians in this forums can give you some other ideas...the possibilities are literally endless. Hope you find some inspiration.

Finished it! https://www.youngcomposers.com/t50554/donc-ce-sera-par-un-clair-jour-d%C3%A9t%C3%A9/

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 10 8 10 7.5 8.5 9 7 8.5 Avg: 8.56 Nice romantic harmony paired with a gorgeous theme makes this a very clear and easy to follow piece. Variations of your themes are also very cool, and your key changing keeps this piece from feeling too repetitive. I definitely hear your Tchaikovsky influence, but around 3:30 I actually think I hear some Mendelssohn influence as well, maybe you didn't even realize it. Be careful though with balancing the piano parts of your melody, they were definitely too weak in velocity especially compared to your strings. But that's just an audio issue. As far as the execution of the challenge, this one is tough for me because it does remind me of romance between a man and a woman (or some type of heartbreak), but the story you are portraying here is so romantic-heavy, I forget about the summer part. But that might just me! Despite that, this is a beautiful and heartfelt piece.

Thanks for the reminder. Everyone who hasn't already submitted music has been messaged about the encroaching deadline. We're still expecting at least 2 more submissions for a potential total of 9.

Hello A few weeks ago, I was discussing the characteristic features of the 20th-century neoclassical style. I wrote a short minuet incorporating these features. A playful style, based on the 18th-century minuet dance, with broken accents, clean lines, bitonality, unexpected modulations... MINUETO_luis.mp3 MINUETO_luis.pdf

Hey guys! So over the weekend I composed the first movement of my composition “Philly”. This first movement takes place is the serene and turbid wold of north western Philadelphia. I remember as a young child living there and walking in the cloud scaped hills, as well as getting lots of donuts and pickles during the weekend. I hope you’ll look into my composition and give me feedback. I’ve already submitted it to a few ensembles which I doubt will perform it but eventually I’d love to get it performed by an ensemble in Philadelphia. Take a listen and a look! Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15NoNQ7O-ghsDeWHVtaEqCI8skRZ8HZYA/view?usp=drivesdk Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ri86LSqV7lzbPePIhvZUfSWYBEHnRsw6/view?usp=drivesdk

Thank you very much, MK Piano, for the lovely annotated document! Not only has this information been crucial to Philly but I was able to make meaningful changes to a piece I will have performed at Temple University for wind ensemble. Your mouth is very well rounded. Also, I greatly appreciate the harp demonstration video. Thank you for all your dedication and thought. I am always changing and hopefully improving.

MK-Piano .... Thanks for the annotated review .... ! This is a lovely post-romantic work ..... e.g, Howard Hanson. Mark

Hey @nathanstravinsky! I just finished my annotations and I am here to share! The attached PDF are my comments on your work. You will find a written out summary at the end. To add, I am attaching this 5-minute long YouTube video covering the Harp. I felt it important to make a dedicated video as some moments for the harp in your work were not practical for the instrument. For anyone else viewing this comment, it is a basic introduction to the harp for composers. Find both resources here: https://youtu.be/_Stiy-uh12k?si=luX9YTfy-8DASSxx N. Janco - Philly (ANNOTATED).pdf

Hi there Nathan! Welcome to the forum, I do have some comments for you on this work. However, I prefer to keep it simple and annotate the score itself versus trying to type it all out in a single and concise comment. Lovely work so far and It'll interesting to see the other movements.

Ps if any one you play an instrument in this composition or any string (viola, violin, cello, bass) and would be open to recording even an excerpt of this it would mean a lot.