We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Washington Heights Choir School’s first-ever composition competition!

We received 40 submissions from an incredibly talented group of composers, and the range and quality of the work made the judging process both exciting and challenging. In the end, we decided to award a second prize in addition to the originally planned first prize.

1st Prize: "Time to Play" by Joel Esher
2nd Prize: "Who Has Seen the Wind" by Jiwon Hahn

We are deeply grateful to the generous anonymous donors who made this competition possible, and to our judges—Rich Stout, Audrey Bishop, Luka Marinkovic, Sam Westley, and Julio Vaquero—for their time and thoughtful consideration.

It is a great honor to have had the chance to engage with so much thoughtful and creative music. We know our students will have a great time learning and performing these pieces in the coming year!

—The Washington Heights Choir School

1st Prize - “Time to Play” by Joel Esher

Joel Esher is a composer, lyricist, educator, and music director based in New York City. He serves as the Music Director of the Children's and Youth Choral Programs at Marble Collegiate Church under Michael Hey, and as a choir director and music specialist with the Music and Outreach Department at Trinity Church NYC under Melissa Attebury.

As a composer-lyricist, Joel has co-written PharmaBro! (with Lauren Gundrum, Off-Broadway Alliance Nomination for Best New Musical), Superhots! (with Blair Bodine, published in MTI’s 10-Minute Musicals Anthology), Bagels from Benny and Sammy Spider’s First Mitzvah (with Rebecca Schoffer), among others. He is a member of the BMI Advanced Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Joel is honored and deeply grateful to The Washington Heights Choir School for bringing his new piece, Time to Play, to life. My sincerest love and gratitude to my wife Kaitlin, daughter Theodora, and our son, due in July!

2nd prize - “Who Has Seen the Wind” by Jiwon Hahn

Jiwon Hahn is a composer, orchestrator, arranger, and pianist originally from Korea, based in Atlanta, GA. With over a decade in theater music, she blends tonal and rhythm-driven styles across genres. Specializing in operas and musicals, Jiwon reimagines existing works and creates new sonic landscapes using classical instruments and contemporary techniques. She has a keen interest in music for voice and drama. Her work has been performed by various ensembles, including Jupiter Opera, the Illinois Modern Ensemble, and the Korea National Opera. Jiwon continues to push the boundaries of contemporary music through her innovative compositions.