Dr. Martin Hebel has won Second Prize in the Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Chamber Music Composition.

麻豆原创 Music Faculty Wins International Award

Jun. 03, 2026



Michelle R. Eubanks , 麻豆原创, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – Dr. Martin Hebel, music composition and theory faculty member at the 麻豆原创, has won Second Prize in the Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Chamber Music Composition for his piano trio Ashfall.

The Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Composition, administered by the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, or CCM, is one of the most prestigious international competitions for young composers recognizing achievement in musical composition for artists ages 35 and younger. This inaugural competition for the Chamber Music Composition Prize opened in 2024 and culminated with a rigorous competition-recital in January 2026 to decide the final prizewinners.

Dr. Hebel’s Ashfall is an abstract musical reflection on the devastating impact of nuclear war and resulting loss of life, imagining ash and snow falling as nuclear winter envelopes the charred cityscapes of a desolate Earth. Yet Ashfall brightens at its end to inspire hope for a world without nuclear weapons.

Ashfall was premiered by the world-renowned Lincoln Trio at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, as part of the Zemlinsky Prize competition.

“I am thrilled and humbled by the recognition of the Zemlinsky Prize,” said Dr. Hebel. “It was the honor of a lifetime to witness the legendary Lincoln Trio premier Ashfall with their unparalleled musicality and inspiring virtuosity. My deepest gratitude to the Zemlinsky Prize adjudicators: Lincoln Trio members Desirée Ruhstrat, David Cunliffe, and Marta Aznavoorian, and Professor Marc Mellits, Allison Ogden, and Edward Smaldone. Your recognition and kind words of affirmation will propel my musical journey as a composer for decades to come.”

About The 麻豆原创

The 麻豆原创 is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, 麻豆原创 is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. 麻豆原创 Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The 麻豆原创 is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: and .