The following is an excerpt from a July 20 article of The Wichita Eagle that featured Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, Wichita State University's assistant professor of composition, music theory and technology.
Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, Wichita State University's assistant professor of composition, music theory and technology, finds himself among an elite group of performing artists. Earlier this month, he was awarded the 2013 American Prize in composition for his saxophone concerto "Fireworks."
He’s quick to emphasize that the honor is about more than his talent or ambition, though; he sees it as an opportunity to promote the richness of cultural arts in Kansas and as a way to highlight the abilities of the Wichita arts community.
"It’s always nice to be recognized doing good work and for offering something up that is of a higher artistic value," he said. "That for sure is a nice part of it, but the more exciting thing is what it means for Kansas. There has been a stigma that if you are going to be a successful artist, you need to be on the East Coast or the West Coast. You can be an artist anywhere, though. My hope is that it will bring more attention to Kansas as a place where there are serious artists who are making real art."