Music Grad Wins Big in Composition Competitions

It’s been a big year for Christopher Enloe (’18). He has won three prizes in composition competitions, received a commission to compose an organ piece, and been invited to advise the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

But fundamentally, Enloe’s work as a composer is about so much more.

“I have two feelings simultaneously,” he said. “On the one hand, it’s really encouraging for me as a composer to see that my work is being appreciated, that there are ensembles that are excited to perform these pieces. At the same time, in this stage of life, I’m constantly reminded how small these things are in comparison to my marriage or ministry to the church. As wonderful as these awards are, in an eternal sense, they only matter insofar as the Lord uses them for His glory.”

Enloe graduated from The Master’s University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Music in Composition. Since then, he’s earned a master’s degree in composition from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where he is currently a doctoral student.

This spring, Enloe won first prize in the O/Modernt Composition Award competition and second prize in the Musica Sacra Nova competition. He also received the BMI Composer Award, which was given to six winners out of a pool of over 500 applicants. In addition, the American Guild of Organists commissioned him to produce a new work (titled “Exsultet”) alongside an organist from Rice University.

The O/Modernt press release praises Enloe’s work for its “highly expressive qualities and cohesive dramatic structure” and “skillful use of expressionism and sonority.”

Then in August, Enloe came on as an advising composer for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in its experimental “AI in A Minor” concert. This gave him a unique opportunity to participate in novel, AI-aided compositions and contribute to discussions about the use of AI in music.

As for the future, Enloe is leaving it in the Lord’s hands.

“In the end, I don’t know what the Lord is going to do with my music,” he says. “All I know is that I’m called to write — that this is something that needs to be a part of my life, because He’s gifted me to do it and given me the opportunity to do it. And I trust that He will work it out for His own glory. Whether my pieces are being performed in public and my name is more prominent doesn’t really matter. What matters is, ‘Is Christ glorified in my life?’”

Learn more about studying music at TMU, at masters.edu/music.

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