In addition to the $10,000 commission, the foundation has promised another $3,000 to Marinescu to help cover the expenses of getting the piece performed.

"I would say that without a doubt this is probably the highlight of my entire career," said Marinescu, 32, who joined Northridge's music faculty this fall. "On the other hand, I've been told that if this is where my career starts, then I may go a lot further. I hope those people are right."

William Toutant, dean of CSUN's College of Arts, Media, and Communication and an internationally recognized composer in his own right, said that for a composer, receiving a Fromm commission was on a par to receiving a Pulitzer Prize for a journalist.

"To receive a commission from the Fromm Foundation is quite an honor for a composer. It's very, very prestigious," Toutant said. "To have this honor won by one of our junior faculty is as much a feather in our cap as it is his."

Founded by the late Paul Fromm, the Fromm Music Foundation has commissioned more than 300 new compositions and their performances, and has sponsored hundreds of new music concerts and concert series, among them Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music.

The foundation seeks to strengthen composition and to bring contemporary music closer to the public by awarding composers a commission and then subsidizing premiere performances of the commissioned works.

Marinescu described his music as written from personal convictions, rather than based on the demands on the commercial market.

"But it's definitely not the kind of music you listen to, remember the theme and then whistle it in the car on the way home," he said with a laugh, adding, "New sounds and new ideas don't exactly draw a lot of interest from the general public."

Despite the unique nature of his music, or maybe because of it, Marinescu has hopes of getting a major symphony to premiere the piece being commissioned by the Fromm Foundation, even though the performance stipend he received from the foundation would be a drop in the bucket in terms of covering the expense.

"I would love to see if the Los Angeles Philharmonic would like to perform it, and that they will support local music scene," he said.

Marinescu grew up in Romania and attended one of the nation's leading music schools in Bucharest. In 1992, he had an opportunity to see a performance by acclaimed composer/conductor Edwin London, founder of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Emboldened by his love of the music and his ability to speak English, Marinescu went back stage to meet London. He showed London some of his scores and within three weeks he was in Cleveland, studying with London on scholarship.

Marinescu returned to Romania briefly in 1993 and 1994, but London convinced him to return to the United States, "because this is where the future is." Marinescu received his doctorate from the University of Maryland.

He taught briefly in Pennsylvania and Minnesota before accepting a position to teach at Cal State Northridge this fall.

"The past five months have been the happiest, greatest time in my life," Marinescu said. "I find this place exciting and challenging. I love it here."