We are excited to announce the mentors for the winning student songwriters of the 2024-2025 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students, a joint initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT). This prestigious program provides high school students with an unparalleled opportunity to develop and showcase their musical compositions, that could potentially become part of full-scale original musical theatre productions.
Excerpts of the winning song submissions and more information about the winners are available here. Over the next several weeks, each of these songs will be professionally orchestrated. Winning students will come to New York City this June where they will work with mentors and musicians to hone their orchestrations while learning about process, technique, and production. The final compositions will be performed by Broadway artists in a concert on Monday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET, available to watch live and on-demand at arts.gov/songwriting and namt.org/challenge. In addition, each winning student will receive a scholarship of $2,500, provided by the NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation.
The 2024-2025 winners are:
(grades and schools are as of the 2024-2025 school year)
- “Dancing Through a Dream” by Leela Kumar – 11th Grade from Marlbolo, NJ
- “Fall” by Sydney Gray – 12th Grade from Fairhope, AL
- “Fool” by Judah Brown – 11th Grade from Tulsa, OK
- “Hello World” by Karsten Wallace – 11th Grade from Madison, AL
- “Older” by Gwendellyn Doerfler – 12th Grade from Dewitt, MI
- “Second Chances” by Elaina Stuppler – 11th Grade from Portland, OR
- “The Way Iamb” by Sadie Shapiro – 12th Grade from Scotch Plains, NJ
- “Why Not?” by Ali Lewis – 12th Grade from Cincinnati, OH
The 2025 Music Team includes Music Supervisor Dylan Glatthorn, Music Director Anessa Marie Scolpini, Mentors Andrea Daly, Timothy Huang and Jaime Lozano. The winning songs will be orchestrated by Faye Chiao, Teresa Lotz and Anessa Marie Scolpini. The final compositions will be performed by Broadway artists in a concert on Monday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET, available to watch live and on-demand at arts.gov/songwriting and namt.org/challenge. In addition, each winning student will receive a scholarship of $2,500, provided by the NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation.
Meet the mentors
Dylan Glatthorn
Challenge Music Supervisor (Fest ’22)
Dylan Glatthorn (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based composer, lyricist, and arranger. He has worked with Grammy- and Tony-winning performers and producers, and his music has been described by the New York Times as “assured” with the “steaminess and drive of Janacek” and the “harmonic allure” of Debussy. His original musicals include: The Pelican (Musical Theatre West’s New Works Fest ’24, NAMT Festival of New Musicals ’22, Frank Young Fund Grant ’20-’21) Pottersfield (National Foundation for Musical Theatre Grant ’24), Edison, and Republic as well as one acts including Peach Melba (Prospect’s MT Lab ’23), Starshine, and Bittersweet Lullaby (licensed through Music Theatre International). He has written music for eleven feature films, numerous shorts and webseries, and commercially for brands such as Lindt, Nickelodeon, Oakley, Red Bull, Alessi, PBS, and the Tokyo Metro. He is a proud member of Theatre Now’s Musical Writers Lab, ASCAP, and The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. He is the resident music supervisor for NAMT’s Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge.
Anessa Marie Scolpini
Challenge Music Director, Orchestrator (MTSC ’24)
Anessa Marie Scolpini (she/her) is a music director, composer, orchestrator and pianist based in the NYC area. She is currently serving as Associate Conductor for the Broadway revival of Cabaret. Broadway: Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Moulin Rouge, Aladdin, Chicago. Off-Broadway/Regional: White Girl In Danger, A Beautiful Noise, The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation, Joy, The Office Musical Parody, Far From Canterbury.
Andrea daly
Challenge Mentor (Fest ’15)
Andrea Daly is an award-winning composer working at the intersections of musical theatre, pop, and classical music. After completing a Ph.D. in Composition at Stony Brook University in 2014 and releasing four EPs as a pop singer/songwriter with Warner/Chappell Music, Andrea used both styles to inform the score of her first original musical, Legendale (with bookwriter/lyricist Jeff Bienstock); Legendale was featured in NAMT’s Festival of New Works and Stephen Schwartz’s ASCAP workshops before a successful World Premiere in Denmark and American Premiere in Ohio, both in 2017. Andrea has since been commissioned to write book, music, and lyrics for an original near-future love story called NEXT, with collaborator Dominic Fallacaro (co-music/orchestrations) and will soon be releasing footage from a sold out Joe’s Pub concert of the music, featuring Broadway stars. Visit www.AndreaDalyMusic.com for more projects, and follow Andrea at @andreadalymusic.
TIMOTHY HUANG
Challenge Mentor (Fest ’15)
Timothy Huang is the multi-award winning composer/lyricist/librettist of the musicals The View From Here, Peter and the Wall and A Relative Relationship. His musical American Morning was the recipient of the 2015 New American Musical Award, and the 2016 Richard Rodgers Award making him the first and (so far) only Asian-American triple-threat composer/lyricist/librettist winner in the latter’s history. Other works include And the Earth Moved LINES: A Song Cycle, Missing Karma, Gates of Remembering and Koi Story. Timothy is a two-time Larson Grant finalist, a two-time Fred Ebb Award finalist, a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA grant recipient and the selected 2020 NYMF Fellow. As a teaching artist he’s spoken and mentored at universities across the country and for Lincoln Center Education’s Songwriting in Schools program, as well as mentored for the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge hosted by NAMT and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has served on the Dramatists Guild National Council, the Creative Council for the AAPI Caucus of the DNC, the Rhinebeck Writer’s Retreat Sounding Board and the NAMT Alumni Writer’s committee. Proud husband to Laura and father to Haven. www.timothyhuang.net
JAIME LOZANO
Challenge Mentor (FYFNM ’24)
Jaime Lozano is a Mexican multi-hyphenate musical theatre storyteller considered by Lin-Manuel Miranda as the “next big thing” on Broadway. American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grant 2022. Rhinebeck Writers Retreat 2025. Goodspeed Opera House’s Johnny Mercer Grove Writers 2025. Dramatists Guild Fellow 2024-2025. Lincoln Center Resident Artist 2023. Joe’s Pub Working Group 2020-2022. The Civilians R&D Group 2020-2021. JACK Resident Artist 2021. Lincoln Center Resident Artist 2023. Selected works: El Otro Oz -formerly The Yellow Brick Road– (Off-Broadway & National Tour), Carmen La Cubana (European Tour), Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 “Best of Fest” Production), A Never-Ending Line (Comédie Nation in Paris, France & Off-Broadway), Desaparecidas (JACK). Albums: “A Never-Ending Line,” “Jaime Lozano and the Familia: Songs by an Immigrant” released by Broadway Records. “Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 2,” released by Concord Theatricals Recordings. Film: “In The Heights” (orchestrations), “Tick, Tick… Boom!” (cameo in Broadway composers scene). His project “Jaime Lozano & The Familia” has performed sold out concerts at venues such as Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, The Green Room 42, Two River Theater, and as part of the prestigious Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series. Currently working on Frida, The Musical, ROJA and his anticipated new album: “Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 3”. BFA: Music & Composition, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; MFA: NYU/Tisch, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (Full Tuition Scholarship); part of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, AFM Local 802, BMI and GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY member.
Faye Chiao
Challenge Orchestrator (Fest ’23)
Faye Chiao is a versatile musical artist whose work as a composer, orchestrator, arranger, music director and performer spans musical theatre, opera and concert music. Faye’s work has been recognized with awards from The Presser Foundation, The Puffin Foundation and OPERA America. She has also been an artist-in-residence at The John Duffy Institute for New Opera at the Virginia Arts Festival, the Boston Chamber Symphony and a Labworks artist at The New Victory Theater. Additionally, Faye has received residencies at Barrington Stage Company, Millay Arts, Bethany Arts Community and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her compositions have been commissioned, produced and developed by Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Two River Theater, Syracuse Stage, Kenyon College, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Manhattan School of Music, Prospect Theater, The Playwrights Realm, Single Carrot Theater, Hear Her Song, Pittsburgh Festival Opera and The 24-Hour Musicals. Faye is a proud member of ASCAP, Theatre Now New York’s Musical Writers Lab, BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Advanced Workshop, Maestra and MUSE. She is currently on faculty at BerkleeNYC and holds degrees from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. @fayechiao
TERESA LOTZ
Challenge Orchestrator (MTSC ’24)
Teresa Lotz (she/they) is an award-winning playwright and composer-lyricist whose work includes She Calls Me Firefly (2019 New York Innovative Theater Award Winner Best Original Short Script); Akira & The Merpeople (Polyphone Festival 2020); Red Emma & the Mad Monk (NY Times Critic’s Pick, 6 NYIT Nominations, LadyFest 2018); ThreeTimesFast (Florida Festival of New Musicals 2019, O’Neill Theater Festival Semi-Finalist); The Awakening (O’Neill Theater Festival Semi-Finalist, MTF Developmental Series at Playwright’s Horizons 2016). Speranza Theatre Company’s Women’s Playwrights Circle (current); New Perspectives Theater Company’s Women’s Work Lab (alumni); New Dramatists Composer-Librettists Studio (alumni). 2020 Finalist for the Jonathan Larson Grant. Musical Theater Writing, M.F.A. NYU. TeresaLotz.com
NAMT Executive Director Betsy King Militello on Celebrating the Winners:
“The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students reminds us that the future of musical theatre is bright, bold and brimming with possibility. NAMT is excited to welcome this year’s Winners to New York City. We are thrilled to help nurture these young voices and offer them a space to explore their artistry, connect with mentors and share their stories with the world. It’s an honor to stand alongside our partners in championing the next generation of musical theatre creators.”
The 2024-2025 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge kicked off last fall. Throughout the winter, students had access to online masterclasses and coaching sessions, among other educational resources. Students submitted a draft of their songs and received personalized feedback from successful musical theater artists, musicians, administrators, and educators. Students then revised their songs before entering their compositions for final judging. Overall, 90 submissions were received by students from 27 states.
A committee of leaders in the musical theater field reviewed the submissions and scored them based on published criteria: Avi Amon, Larson Grant Winning Composer (NY); Geri Auriemma, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation (WA); Caley Beretta, Disney Theatrical Group (NY); Jim Colleran, Concord Theatricals (NY); Dylan Glatthorn, NAMT Festival Alumni Writer and MTSC Music Supervisor (NY); Lauren Grajewski, Harper Collins Productions (NY); Timothy Huang, NAMT Festival Alumni Writer and MTSC Mentor (NY); Terrance Jackson, Asolo Repertory Theatre (FL); Susan Lee, Broadway Education Alliance (NY); Cathy Masie, Masie Productions (NY); Irvin Mason Jr., NAMT Festival Emerging Artists Alumni and Director (NY); Henry Platt, Warner Chappell Music (NY); Kalani Queypo, NAMT Festival Alumni Writer (CA); Anessa Marie Scolpini, MTSC Music Director (NY); Brad Willcuts, Michigan State University (MI); Jacob Yandura, NAMT Festival Alumni Writer (NY); Jean-Paul Yovanoff, Musical Theatre Radio (ON).
The 2024-2025 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge is held in collaboration with Concord Theatricals, Disney Theatrical Group, NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation and The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation.
Challenge Accepted! A Concert Presenting the Winners of the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students
Experience the exceptional talent of these high school songwriters from across the nation, brought to life by Broadway artists!
About the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge
The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge is designed to inspire high school students to write songs that could be part of a musical theater production, using the wide range of musical styles represented in contemporary musicals. The goal of the program is to engage the musical theater field in nurturing the next generation of songwriters. Learn more about past winners and hear their final songs at arts.gov/songwriting.
The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge is open to high school students from all 50 states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories. For more information on how to participate and to access songwriting tools and resources, visit namt.org/challenge.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. To learn more, visit arts.gov.
About the National Alliance for Musical Theatre
The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, founded in 1985, is a not-for-profit organization serving the musical theatre community. Its mission is to be a catalyst for nurturing musical theatre development, production, innovation and collaboration. Their 150 organizational members and 60 individual members, located throughout 31 states and eight countries abroad, are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world and include theatres, presenting organizations, higher education programs and individual producers. Among the 300 musicals launched by NAMT’s Annual Festival of New Musicals are Come From Away, Lempicka, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lizard Boy, Teeth, Gun & Powder, King of Pangea, Benny & Joon, Darling Grenadine, Ordinary Days, It Shoulda Been You and Thoroughly Modern Millie, among many others, representing 575 writers. Discover more at namt.org.