News

03 December 2008

ARE YOU A YOUNG COMPOSER?

Enter the NCEM and BBC Radio 3's Young Composer Award

The new NCEM Composers Award is a national competition open to young composers in two categories - aged up to 18 years and 19 to 25 years - who are invited to compose a new a cappella piece (unaccompanied) for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) is working with BBC Radio 3 and the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble The Tallis Scholars to offer this new Award.

This is the first year of this partnership and the award-winning pieces will receive the honour of being premiered and sung by The Tallis Scholars in the opening concert in the 2009 York Early Music Festival at York Minster. BBC Radio 3 will record this concert.

Shortlisted finalists chosen for the Award will have the chance to be involved in an outstanding comprehensive development programme, and will work alongside the well-known composer Christopher Fox, in a series of workshops at the NCEM next May. The winning compositions will then be performed by York’s own Ebor Singers at a public performance on Thursday 14 May in the presence of the young composers. The pieces will be recorded by music technology students from the University of York and will be available to listen to on the NCEM website.

The following rules apply:

• Your piece should be scored for SATB or SSATB.

• Your piece should be between 3 and 4 minutes’ long. 

• The lyrics should be of a text that is suitable to be presented in York Minster; should be in Latin/English (written after Shakespeare’s time ie not medieval English); and should be clear of copyright.

• The composition should be entirely your own work and not previously published/performed.  Proof of identity will be required by all those shortlisted.

• Only one piece per entrant is permitted.

• The NCEM Composers Award is not open to employees or family members of the National Centre for Early Music, The Tallis Scholars or the BBC. 

• The NCEM Composers Award is intended as an educational project and preference will be given to those who have not yet embarked on a professional career.

Entrants must submit expressions of interest to the NCEM by 27 March 2009 and final scores must be submitted by Friday 3 April 2009. The Award will be judged by Peter Phillips, Director of The Tallis Scholars; Chris Wines, Senior Music Producer BBC Radio 3 and Delma Tomlin, Director of the NCEM and the winners will be announced from the NCEM on Thursday 14 May.

The winning piece(s) will be performed by The Tallis Scholars on the opening night of the 2009 York Early Music Festival and the concert will be broadcast by BBC Radio 3.

Download information and application pack

W: www.ncem.co.uk
E: info@ncem.co.uk
T: 01904 632220

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