E4TT Names Jamie Morales As Winner Of The E4TT/SFCM TAC Student Multimedia Composition Competition

Award-winning SF contemporary chamber music group Ensemble for These Times has named Jamie Morales as the winner of their student multimedia composition competition in collaboration with SFCM's TAC department.

E4TT will perform the World Premiere of "Jupiter Rain" for cello and electronics by Morales on the group's annual multimedia commissions concert on April 17, 2026 at 7:30 p.m at Cha Chi Ming Hall, Bowes Center, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and livestreamed on Vimeo. A collaboration with the SF Conservatory of Music's Technical and Applied Composition (TAC) Department and entitled "Women Crossing/ Liminality," the program will be free to attend and will feature three commissioned World Premieres by Juhi Bansal, Vivian Fung, and Pamela Z along with pre-existing works by Leileihua Lanzilotti and Sofia Jen Ouyang. Fung and Z will join the group for a composer talk before the concert.

About the Competition

E4TT's commissioning program and collaboration with SF Conservatory of Music's Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) department first began in 2019, when TAC students were asked to choose one of five 3-5 minute film clips and compose music to it, as part of E4TT's Film Noir Project. Since then, each iteration has involved differing instrumentation. In 2026, the sixth iteration, students were asked to compose for solo cello with or without electronics, with the winning piece to be performed as part of the culminating concert in our two-year project, "Women Crossing/Liminality," an innovative exploration of women's immigration and identity.

About Winning Student Composer Jamie Morales

Jaime Morales is a composer and sound designer who specializes in interactive music systems and seamlessly combining acoustic and electronic elements to create unique sonic landscapes. What he loves most about music is collaborating with anyone and everyone who loves what they do! Recent projects include video games, films, concert music, and even art installations. Each providing their own unique challenges and methods of artistic expression and collaboration. Jaime's biggest source of inspiration is his cat, "She fills me with an admiration for life so profound it cannot be put into words." He uses this inspiration to create rich tapestries of sound along with extraordinary collaborators.

About "Women/Crossing/Liminality"

The highlight of E4TT's 2025/26 season will be Women Crossing/Liminality, our annual commissions concert and sixth multimedia collaboration with the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as the culmination of our two-year project, "Women Crossing/Liminality," an innovative exploration of women's immigration and identity. The concert will feature three commissioned World Premieres-"Fields of Sorrow," for voice, cello, and piano by Opera America Discovery winner, Indian-Hongkongese composer Juhi Bansal (b. 1992), and two pieces for found-object percussion: "Rustling" with bass flute by JUNO Award winner, Chinese-American composer Vivian Fung (b. 1975), and "From" with violin, cello, and tape by Rome Prize-winning Black composer, Pamela Z (b. 1956)-along with the World Premiere of "Jupiter Rain" for cello and electronics by Jamie Morales (b. 1998), winner of the E4TT/TAC student multimedia composition competition. Two more works will round out the program: "say it in your heart, say when you sleep" (2023) for solo piano by 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Hawaiian composer Leilehua Lanzilotti (b. 1985), and "Liminal/ity" (2021) for solo cello by Chinese-American composer and BMI Award winner Sophia Jen Ouyang (b. 2001).

E4TT (cellist Megan Chartier and pianist Margaret Halbig) will be joined by guests Composer-Performer and Media Artist Pamela Z, percussionist Haruka Fujii, violinist Lylia Guion, soprano Bryana Marrero, and flutist Stacey Pelinka. The concert will be free to attend at Cha Chi Ming Recital Hall in the Bowes Center at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (RSVPs recommended) and will also be livestreamed at no charge on SFCM's Vimeo channel.