Dr. James Higgs Has Been Awarded the Prize for “Terza Messa by Marianna Martines: Significance, Style, and Critical Edition.”

The Julius Herford Dissertation Prize: Each year the Julius Herford Prize Subcommittee accepts nominations for the outstanding doctoral terminal research project in choral music. Projects are eligible if they comprise the principal research component of the degree requirements, whether the institution defines the project as a “dissertation,” “document,” “thesis,” or “treatise,” etc. Eligibility is limited to doctoral recipients whose degrees were conferred during the calendar year prior to the year of nomination. The submitted projects are evaluated entirely blind with regard to dissertator, assisting faculty, institution, and any other identifying material, by an unpaid panel of choral conductor-scholars. Dr. Higgs will receive a $1,000 cash prize and a commemorative plaque presented at the 2027 National ACDA Conference in Minneapolis.

From the abstract: “This critical edition of Terza Messa (1760) by the Viennese Classical composer Marianna Martines (1744–1812)….expands on the current scholarship available on Martines, and provides a resource for conductors interested in performing Terza Messa or her other masses. Martines’s life, her musical style, and the historical context and style of eighteenth-century Viennese concerted masses of the early Classical period are explored. A critical report with a discussion of the sources used for the edition, editorial methods, and critical notes is included. Excerpts of the edition are found in the appendix.”

Committee members’ comments include: “The detailed explanation for editing, procedure, and the logic and explanation of context underlying the decisions is excellent.  Very impressed with presentation of contextual information that directly shapes implementation along with performance parts, fair copy and analytical materials.”  And “Meticulous Kritische Bericht.  Practical result is a much-awaited performing edition of Martines’ Terza Messa by this diligent researcher.”

James Higgs is an Instructor of Choral Conducting at the University of Arizona where he directs Collegium Musicum, Arizona Baroque, and teaches graduate conducting students. He is co-director of the University of Arizona Choral Literature Intensive, and Artistic Director of Desert Voices, a 100-member mixed GALA ensemble. His research is focused on the works of Marianna Martines, 18th c. Viennese masses, and editions of 18th c. manuscripts.  He is the author of the chapter on Martines in “Choral Repertoire by Women Composers.”  Dr. Higgs received a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona, working with Dr. Elizabeth Schauer; an MM in Keyboard Collaborative Arts from the University of Southern California; and a BM in Piano Performance from Chapman University.