We are thrilled to announce that Poplars Near Nuenen, composed by Will Jefferies, a student at the Horne School of Music at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, is the winner of our 2026 8SW Composer Competition!
Poplars Near Nuenen is a stunningly beautiful aural exhibition of Van Gogh’s art.
Will writes that:
“In 1885, while living in the small Dutch village of Nuenen, Van Gogh was deeply immersed in portraying rural life— not the glamour of it, but the quiet dignity of labor and the stark beauty of nature. “Poplars Near Nuenen” reflects this sensibility, and it was created during one of the most formative periods of his life before his explosion into bold color and swirling skies. With it’s somber tones, long vertical trees, and solitary landscape, the painting conveys both the stillness and the melancholy of the countryside that so often echoed Van Gogh’s own inner world.
Here, Van Gogh was still grounded in Dutch realism, studying form, light, and mood. The poplars are not just trees; they are silent witnesses to the changing seasons, to solitude, and to the passage of time. Through this song, the composer wanted to capture that quiet tension — the beauty in stillness, and the emotional depth in a landscape that seems, at first glance, so simple.“
Poplars Near Nuenen will be premiered on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at St. John’s in the Village. Please visit our Upcoming Concerts page for more information.
