Faculty composer Douglas Buchanan (MM ’08, Composition, Music Theory Pedagogy; DMA ’13, Composition) and librettist Caitlin Vincent (MM ’09, Voice) win the $25,000 Sackler Prize for Music Composition from the University of Connecticut. The collaboration is a one-hour opera to be premiered in 2019, focusing on Bessie Coleman, the first female African-American aviator, and Ma Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas. The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Music Composition Prize offers a $25,000 cash prize, recordings, and substantial recognition including public performances. The competition will be an biennial event rotating among specific areas of the musical arts. These include: jazz ensemble, choir, opera, wind ensemble, orchestra, children’s choir, chamber ensemble, solo instrument, voice, and electronic music.