Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) awarded Hope professor Ben Krause (center) with the Thomas Ediger Distinguished Composer of the Year for his composition, Spaces Real or Imagined. Presenting the award was Ann Rivers Witherspoon (at left) — chair of the MTNA commissioned composer program. Clarinetist Gary June (right) accompanied Krause for their performance. Photo credit: Lan Vo Photograph
Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) named Dr. Benjamin Krause, associate professor of music at Hope College, as its Thomas Ediger Distinguished Composer of the Year for his composition, Spaces Real or Imagined. Krause was recognized at the 2026 MTNA National Conference in Chicago, held March 21–25, where he performed his piece in concert on piano along with clarinetist Gary June, a West Michigan composer and educator. This was Krause’s second time being honored, receiving the first award in 2019. Krause teaches composition and theory at Hope College.
The MTNA Commissioned Composer Program assists its affiliated state associations in the generation and performance of new music by American composers. The Thomas Ediger Distinguished Composer of the Year Award is given to the composer of an outstanding composition submitted as state-commissioned work. The honor comes with a $5,000 monetary award, made available by the MTNA Foundation Fund.
Commissioned by the Michigan Music Teachers Association, Spaces Real or Imagined is a collection of five pieces inspired by a special exhibit of the paintings of Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908—1992) at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Each movement responds to — and is titled after — a particular painting, and, through a sort of musical ekphrasis, aims to translate its visual language into the musical.
“Vieira da Silva’s work grapples with the tensions between realism and abstraction; between the world as it is and the world as it may be imagined,” says Krause. “It is within these tensions, sonically conceived, that the pieces of Spaces Real or Imagined live.”
Krause – a composer and pianist — has had his music performed by the Houston Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Chamber Players, and Philadelphia’s Network for New Music, among other leading ensembles and organizations. He received a Copland House Residency Award, the Houston Symphony Emerging Composer Award, a Presser Foundation Award. His work has been supported through residencies at the Brush Creek Arts Foundation and at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, where he was awarded a Distinguished Artist Fellowship.
Krause earned his doctorate degree in music composition from Rice University, his master’s from the University of Oregon and his bachelor’s in piano performance from Valparaiso University. As a student at the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau, France, he was awarded the Prix Marion Tournon Branly. He was also in residence at Brevard Music Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, and the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Institute, where he served as composer-in-residence for six seasons.
About MTNA
MTNA is a nonprofit organization of independent and collegiate music teachers committed to furthering the art of music through teaching, performance, composition and scholarly research. Founded in 1876, MTNA is the oldest professional music teachers association in the United States. For additional information, please contact MTNA national headquarters at (888) 512- 5278 or mtnanet@mtna.org, or visit the website at www.mtna.org.