YOUTHFUL MUSIC-MAKERS: Wen Ting Ersch, 6-year-old composer of “Days,” receives her certificate from Ken Guilmartin and Carole Moore at the annual concert of Voices Chorale NJ’s Young Composers Project.

Voices Chorale NJ’s (VCNJ) Young Composers Project recently held its annual concert at Music Together in Hopewell. Eleven budding composers aged 6-13 premiered their original pieces.

The program, which reflects VCNJ’s core mission of providing music education and community engagement, offers an opportunity for children in grades K-7 to create compositions, develop them in workshops, and receive mentoring from local composers.

This year, composer and producer Ken Guilmartin, who is the founder and director of Music Together, collaborated with accompanist/mentors Joseph Woodhull and Joyce Kay to bring the young musicians’ creations to life. The compositions spanned a range of themes — birds, spring, “snuggly” farm animals, echoes, twilight, and the universe.

Among the notable arrangements was a setting of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem The Eagle, a piece about relationships titled Truce; and the inclusive I Love You and I Love Me. An ensemble of over 20 Voices Chorale singers performed, accompanied by a variety of instruments including piano, bass, violin, and cello.

The Young Composers Project will reconvene in the 2025-2026 academic year. Visit voiceschoralenj.org for information.