Announcing The 2025 NowBeat Commission Awardees!

Announcing The 2025 NowBeat Commission Awardees!

March 12, 2024

Today, The NowBeat Project is thrilled to release the results of the adjudication process for The NowBeat Commission. Guest judges Dr. Roshanne Etezady (University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance), Dr. David Ludwig (The Juilliard School), and Dr. Aaron Travers (Indiana University Jacobs School of Music) reviewed all 16 submissions from alumni of The NowBeat Project’s previous programs, and the following awardees were chosen:

Recipient of The 2025 NowBeat Commission:

  • Andrew Xu, New York City, NY, USA (2024 Cycle Participant)

Honorable Mentions:

  • Zerxes Dabhoiwala-Marolia, New York City, NY, USA (Spring 2022 Cycle Participant)

  • Hudson Holland, Cape Coral, FL, USA (2024 Cycle Participant)

  • Nico Smit, Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa (2024 Cycle Participant)

We extend heartfelt congratulations to the above composers and to all applicants of The 2025 NowBeat Commission! It was an extremely competitive review process, and the judges were impressed by all of the submissions.

As the recipient of The 2025 NowBeat Commission, Andrew Xu will receive a $500 honorarium to compose a new work for piano quintet. The commissioned piece will be premiered by Juilliard student musicians at The 2025 NowBeat Concert at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York City on May 2, 2025. Please stay tuned for more information coming very soon!

About the Awardees

Andrew Xu

Recipient of The NowBeat Commission

Andrew Xu is a composer and pianist based in New York. He has written music encompassing a wide range of styles, ranging from traditional common practice music to choral music to experimental works featuring the prepared piano. His music takes inspiration from abstract concepts—particularly art, literature, and philosophy—and focuses on bringing big-picture ideas to the audience. He is currently studying composition at The Juilliard School Pre-College with Dr. Manuel Sosa. Andrew’s works have been recognized by NPR’s From the Top, National Young Composers Challenge, Music Teachers National Association, Mayflower Art Center’s musicON+ In Bloom Festival, and NYSSMA All-State Winter Conference. His compositions have been performed by the Kodak Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Emissary Quartet, and PHACE Ensemble. Andrew has participated in various festivals, having recently attended the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival during the summer of 2024. There, he studied with Mika Pelo, Oliver Weber, and Clemens Gaddenstatter, and visited the Schoenberg Institute. He has also attended Juilliard Summer Composition directed by Dr. David Ludwig and participated in masterclasses from Grammy award-winning composers John Corigliano, Tania Leon, Eric Whitacre, and Winston Marsalis. Andrew continues to expand his creative expression in the realm of contemporary-classical music.

Zerxes Dabhoiwala-Marolia

Honorable Mention

Zerxes Dabhoiwala-Marolia, born in 2008, is a neo-classical composer and skilled instrumentalist who believes that music is integral to the human experience, and tries to instil a love of music with everything he does. Based in New York City, he has won numerous awards and prizes, including the ASCAP Irving Caesar Award in 2022-2024, an award from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection in 2022, and was recognised as an Emerging Composer in the 2022 Tribeca New Music Competition.
In addition to composition, he is an accomplished trombonist and euphonium player, holding the first-chair trombone position at Third Street's Philharmonia Orchestra, and alternating between assistant principal and bass trombone in the ISO at Third Street Orchestra. He is also a member of the band at the United Nations International School (UNIS), and its trombone ensemble. He has performed at Carnegie Hall once, as a soloist in Nessun Dorma, and as part of the UNIS band. He is scheduled to perform the Tchaikovsky f-minor symphony there in February, and Mahler’s Fifth symphony in June.
His development as a musician has been shaped by numerous distinguished mentors, including Dr Mátti Kovler, Dr Randal Despommier, Justine Chen, and Matthew Barnson, alongside guidance from brass specialists such as Mike Fahie and Gary Capetandes. He has led a trombone quartet in a masterclass with tuba virtuoso — and former New York Philharmonic principal tuba — Kyle Turner, and has performed with famed bass trombonist Jeff Nelson.

Hudson Holland

Honorable Mention

Hudson Holland is a young classical composer (b. 2007) based in Florida. His work usually focuses around nature and creating programmatic interperetations of the natural world as well as depicting abstract aspects of life through music. He often impliments modern composing and performing techniques into his music which gives it a fresh, modern sound, while still remaining timeless and relatable. He has won several competitions including the 2023/24 National Young Composer's Challenge (NYCC) for his piece "Forever in the Wind," and the 2024/25 NYCC for his piece "Journey of a Mountain Goat."

Nico Smit

Honorable Mention

Nicholas J. Smit, born on 9 January 2009, is a South African musician and composer. He started professional training in violin at age 5, piano at age 7, and composition at age 8. Through the years he completed the ABRSM Grades for violin (Grade 7), piano (Grade 6) and music theory (Grade 5), all with distinction. Nicholas has composed various works, including pieces for piano trio, string quartet, various duets and three orchestral compositions, of which two has already been premiered by the North-West University Symphony Orchestra. He has received various accolades for his music, including Diplomas, the highest possible award, from the South African National Eisteddfod for all three his orchestral composition. Nicholas also participated in international composition competitions and received a First Prize with Honors (98%) for "Thema di un Cavelier" in 2023 and a First Prize (97%) for "The Birds and the Hunters" in 2024, during the International Youth Music Competitions. In 2024 he was selected as one of 16 young emerging composers to take part in the international The NowBeat Project. For his project Nicholas composed a duet for flute and clarinet entitled "Verskuiwing van Perspektief", for which he already received national accolades through a Diploma from the South African National Eisteddfod and a National achievers award (highest possible award) from the Allegretto Inter Provincial Eisteddfod. Based on both his composition and violin performances at the National Gala of the Allegretto IPE, Nicholas received the award for the "Best Performance and Progress Overall".