Winner of the 2024 Art Music Society Call for Scores

Eric Estrada Valadez’s Northampton’s Little Chilango, winner of the 2024 Art Music Society Call for Scores, is a reflection of the composer’s experiences while traveling and composing in unfamiliar settings. In his own words:

“During the summer of 2023, I made a trip to visit my sister and nephew in Northampton, a small town an hour away from London, while simultaneously working on a commissioned piece for Joel Hoffman’s Composition Academy at the Korea International Arts School (KISA) in Seoul, Korea. Working outside my usual studio setting posed several challenges: no access to a piano, the need to compose in hotel rooms and airports, and the difficulty of trying to concentrate on composing amid the playful interruptions of a 3-year-old toddler who constantly yelled a mix of English and Spanish. In response to these experiences, especially those of composing with my nephew nearby, I chose to compose a lighthearted and innocent piece for him. The composition is a mosaic of the locations and people that made up my physical and aural environment during those weeks, and in particular I seek to capture the essence of my nephew’s energetic nature, which occasionally borders on the chaotic. This piece is a heartfelt dedication to my him, a “chilango” (a person from Mexico City) in Northampton.”

AMS NA20252 | ISMN 979-0-60020-002-3