Fritz Hager III. Courtesy 

A Robert E. Lee High School senior has been named one of six finalists in the National Endowment for the Arts 2018 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge.

Fritz Hager III will take part in the national songwriting competition for a chance at $25,000, according to a news release from Tyler ISD. The competition received more than 200 applications from high school composers in 36 states.

The finalists, five individual composers and one pair, will each have their songs published by Samuel French, and the national champion will receive a $25,000 scholarship courtesy of the National Music Publishers’ Association S.O.N.G.S. (Supporting Our Next Generation of Songwriters) Foundation.

Hager says the song he submitted is part of a 14-song musical he has been writing over the past several months.

“This particular song is titled ‘If I Lie Here” and is about an aspiring songwriter who tries to convince the love of his life to take him back even through all his past discrepancies, and that despite all logic, we still believe people will change,” he said. “The full musical follows a relationship between two characters as one journeys through the ups and downs of fame.”

In April, Hager will join the other finalists in New York to participate in a weekend of workshops with well-known musicians, singers, songwriters and producers. The event will culminate in an April 23 livestreamed performance of the six songs, judged by a panel of musical theater professionals.

“Fritz is such a creative force – singing, acting, songwriting, as well as a gifted musician,” REL theater teacher Amy Clemens said. “He is always searching for new ways to express himself artistically, and he challenges his peers, and sometimes me, to be better artists. I am incredibly proud of him and for him.”

Fritz plans to attend Oklahoma City University to double major in Musical Theatre and Vocal Performance, and hopes to pursue a career on Broadway.