Atlantic Voices: The Newfoundland and Labrador Choir of Ottawa is a
mixed-voice (SATB) community choir that sings music from and about
Atlantic Canada. This is our third Choral Composition Contest, and the
choir is looking for quality choral music with an East Coast flavour. We
are offering two prizes, a 1st prize of $500 and a 2nd prize of $200,
for original choral works by Canadian composers. The winning works will
be programmed on Atlantic Voices’ Spring 2014 concert. This competition
is open to all residents of Canada, of all backgrounds and all ages.
Note:
the winning entrant need not have a particular connection to the Atlantic region.
Contest submissions must fall into one of the following categories:
- An arrangement of a folksong or set of folksongs from one of the
Atlantic Provinces (Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, or Prince Edward Island);
- An original choral composition based on a text with an obvious
direct connection to Canada’s East Coast. This may include a text by an
East Coast writer or a text with Atlantic Canadian subject matter. If in
doubt concerning the suitability of a proposed text, please contact director@atlanticvoices.ca for clarification.
All styles of composition will be considered, but one of the judging
criteria is the suitability of the work for performance by Atlantic
Voices, so entrants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with our
choir and particularly with some of our recent concert programmes. In
addition, although all submissions will be accepted and adjudicated
equally, entrants are strongly encouraged to avoid submitting new
arrangements of songs which have already been repeatedly arranged for
choral performance or songs which Atlantic Voices has previously
performed on multiple occasions. For a list of choral arrangements that
Atlantic Voices has performed please visit our website:
www.atlanticvoices.ca.
Specifications:The arrangement being submitted must not have been previously published for any choral combination (SSA, SSAB, SAB, SATB, etc.).
The composition or song cycle should be no more than 6 minutes in length.
Works
for any of the following voicings will be considered: SATB, SAB, SSAA,
SA. The composition may be unaccompanied or have piano accompaniment.
Instrumental obligato may be included; however, please avoid extensive
solo voice parts.
The work should be of no more than moderate difficulty -- it should be within the capabilities of our volunteer community choir.
If
the text and music are not in the public domain, it is up to the
entrant to ensure that he or she has the right to use the text and/or
music in his or her work and be prepared to show supporting
documentation.
The entrant must acknowledge anyone who has aided
substantially in the creation of the work, such as a co-arranger or a
teacher who has provided a substantial creative contribution and could
conceivably claim rights to the work. (Please note that multiple
composers will not be awarded
multiple prizes. In such a case, a
single cash prize would be awarded, and it would be up to the parties to
determine equitable distribution of the funds.)
Entries will be
judged blindly on quality of musical ideas, competency of choral
writing, and appropriateness for performance by Atlantic Voices. In
order to maintain anonymity in the judging process, the
composer/entrant’s name should not appear on the score, but only on a
detachable cover page. The detachable cover page should clearly indicate
the name of the submission, the name of the composer/arranger, and the
number of pages in the score. The submission should include only the
name of the piece, on each page, and the page number should be clearly
indicated. Please avoid submitting entries under a pseudonym.
The
choir reserves the right to ask for modifications to a prospective
winning entry before awarding either of the prizes. Entries will be
reviewed initially by a two-person panel consisting of Atlantic Voices’
Director and one other qualifying choral director/adjudicator, chosen by
Atlantic Voices. The panel will provide the executive of Atlantic
Voices with a shortlist of entries. The executive, together with
Atlantic Voices’ Director, will determine the awarding of the two
prizes. Should no submitted work be deemed deserving of an award, or
should only one work be judged deserving, Atlantic Voices reserves the
right not to award one or both of the cash prizes.
Atlantic
Voices may choose, at a later date, to program a non-winning entry into a
scheduled concert. In this circumstance, Atlantic Voices will contact
the entrant to arrange for permission and/or modifications to the score
and to make arrangements for financial remunerations.
The choir
is interested in developing long-term connections with promising new
choral composers and arrangers, and so we encourage entrants to send the
organizers a brief c.v. and/or bio. However, you need not send any
supporting documents, and the prior experience or musical reputation of
the contest entrant will not be taken into account in the judging.
Please
submit your work in musical score, preferably produced through music
notation software. Entries in the form of sound recordings will not be
accepted (no CDs, please).
Please provide your mailing address,
phone number, and an e-mail address for contest correspondence. Atlantic
Voices shall not be held responsible for late, lost, damaged,
misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries.
Copyright
for all entries will remain with the composer; however submitted scores
become the physical property of Atlantic Voices, and will not be
returned to entrants. The choir will have the exclusive right to perform
the winning compositions for 2 years. By submitting an entry to the
contest,
the entrant agrees to be bound by Atlantic Voices’ Choral Composition
Contest entry rules and regulations established herein. Entry into this
contest constitutes permission to use winner's name for future
advertising and publicity purposes without additional compensation.
Contest entries must be received electronically or postmarked no later than October 31st, 2013.
Late submissions will not be accepted. Changes or modifications to any
submitted score will be accepted until midnight on the closing day of
the contest, October 31, 2013.
If mailing your work, please send one copy of each entry to:
Atlantic Voices Choral Composition Contest 2013
82 Prince Albert Street
Ottawa, ON
K1K 2A1Submissions in pdf format are also welcome. Please e-mail to:
director@atlanticvoices.ca and cc
president@atlanticvoices.ca.
Atlantic Voices: The Newfoundland and Labrador Choir of Ottawa is a
mixed-voice (SATB) community choir that sings music from and about
Atlantic Canada. This is our third Choral Composition Contest, and the
choir is looking for quality choral music with an East Coast flavour. We
are offering two prizes, a 1st prize of $500 and a 2nd prize of $200,
for original choral works by Canadian composers. The winning works will
be programmed on Atlantic Voices’ Spring 2014 concert. This competition
is open to all residents of Canada, of all backgrounds and all ages.
Note:
Congratulations to
