The Leonor Hirsch Award

The Leonor Hirsch Award celebrates leading edge musical creations that explore the new possibilities opened by the convergence of digital technologies. It invites the submission of mixed media works of electro-acoustic music with a visual component in video.

The Award will be a single, non-divisible award of US$10,000. The Award winner will be selected from three Finalists, whose works will all be performed at a closing concert. The costs of transportation to the city of Buenos Aires will be covered for Finalists to attend the awards ceremony and concert.

The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2008. There is no application fee.

The members of the Jury of the Leonor Hirsch Award are Gerald Bennett, Francisco Kröpfl, and Nina Colosi.

For more information, registration forms and the complete list of competition rules and regulations, please see www.fundacionbyb.org/ingles/ .

2008 SECONDARY SCHOOL COMPOSITION COMPETITION

To mark the 10th anniversary of the V8 Vocal Ensemble, Auckland’s premier a cappella vocal octet, Year 9-13 students have the opportunity to compose for the group.
The winning composition will be premiered by V8 Vocal Ensemble at their 10th Anniversary Concert in the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber on 5 December 2008.
Prizes include Sibelius 5 Student Music Notation Software and KBB Music vouchers to the total value of $700, proudly sponsored by KBB Music Ltd.

For entry details contact David Squire on squirefamily@slingshot.co.nz.
ENTRIES CLOSE 1 JULY 2008.

HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL MUSIC FOUNDATION Composition Competition

Entry requirements:
The competition is open to all. The work submitted must be a newly composed original work which has
never been performed. The closing date for the competition will be Friday 9 May 2008.
Each composer may submit only one entry. Manuscripts may be submitted in any paper form,
handwritten or computer generated. Manuscripts must not bear the name of the composer, but should be
accompanied by the entry form, which will not be seen by the adjudicators. Please supply five copies of
the manuscript including one in electronic form using PDF format. Competitors who wish their hardcopy
manuscripts returned must indicate this on the Entry Form.
Entries are to be submitted by post to: The Assistant Organist, Holy Trinity Cathedral, PO Box 37-148,
Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. Please mark the envelope “For addressee only”. The electronic version,
should be emailed to philip@holy-trinity.org.nz
Competitors are required to compose a musical setting of a suitable text which will express an air of
celebration as the Cathedral Music Foundation celebrates its 21st anniversary. Total performance time is
not to exceed 5 minutes. The Cathedral Music Foundation Board would like the text to be EITHER an
appropriate celebratory New Zealand text OR a text honouring St Cecilia.
The text is to be set for choir (SATB up to SATTBB) and organ accompaniment.
Adjudicators
The adjudicators reserve the right to not make an award if the entries received are not deemed suitable.
The adjudicators’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into with competitors.
Prize
The winning entry will be awarded a prize of NZ$2000.00, and a guaranteed performance in Holy Trinity
Cathedral during the Cathedral Music Foundation’s 21st Anniversary celebrations in June 2008.
The composer will retain all copyright and publication rights and royalties, but will be required to
designate the setting as the “Winner of The Auckland Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Cathedral Music
Foundation 21st Anniversary Composition Competition”. Holy Trinity Cathedral reserves the right to the
first performance, and to publish its own copies for exclusive use by the Cathedral.

Music Theatre Now Awards

For the first time the International Music Theatre Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in cooperation with the German Centre of ITI invites artists to participate in a worldwide competition for the creators of new opera and music theatre.

Productions, which were professionally produced any where in the world since November 2005 may be submitted. Works which fall into the genre “musical³ or reworkings or reinterpretations of existing music, opera or music theatre MAY NOT be submitted, with the exception of original musical compositions which include samples. Entries may be submitted by the producer, director, composer or publisher. The leading team involved in the project MUST agree to the submission.

The works will be selected by a jury consisting of two members of the International Music Theatre Committee: Laura Berman, artistic director “Art of Our Times³ Bregenz Festival, Austria; Roland Quitt, chief dramaturg, National Theatre Mannheim, Germany. And a third person to be selected.

The prize winners will be invited to present their work at the international meeting Music Theater Now in Berlin, November 2008. Works will be selected in five separate categories based on the number of forces (musicians and performers) involved in the production: 1) Productions (with over 50 performers), which in terms of musical forces and scenic structure could become part of the classical opera repertory. 2) Productions (with over 50 performers), which in terms of their formal nature or scenic requirements may be categorized as “projects³ 3) Mid-sized productions (15 to 60 performers) encompassing both of the categories ³classical opera repertory² or ³project² 4) Small scale productions including solo works from both of the above named categories 5) Productions whose artistic approach have their roots outside of the Western European musical tradition ­ this is not a reference to the artistic personalities, but to the work itself, in terms of both musical and textual content.

Works will be chosen that are exemplary in terms of the development of contemporary music theatre respective of their countries or regions of origin. By ³contemporary music theatre² we mean pieces, which demonstrate a new development in the art form, be it in score, libretto and/or staging. It has become apparent in recent years that very interesting and innovative productions are created outside the established opera house structure. The jury is open to experimental productions expanding the frontiers of the genre, as long as they can be seen as music theatre. This includes productions in which the instruments play more than a secondary role in relation to the human voice, e.g. works performed by an instrumental ensemble for new music. We expect that works by so-called non-academic composers will also be considered. Special attention will be given to works, whose musical and theatrical vocabulary originates outside the western European tradition. As a guideline for those regions in which categories such as ³music theatre² or ³opera² are not defined: all interdisciplinary performing arts works will be considered, in which music, especially that produced by the human voice, plays a dominate role. The winning artists will be invited to present their work in the form of a lecture/demonstration with sound and video excerpts at the 9th triennial meeting Music Theatre Now (Formerly Music Theatre Workshop), November 20-23, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. Travel, accommodation and meals will be provided by the International Theatre Institute for one artist (usually the composer) to attend the meeting, which has served as a forum for professionals from around the world for many years. The artist should give the lecture in English or German. The meeting is for professionals and the general public. In addition to the presentation of the prize-winning productions, the event features lectures and discussions and the performance of new experimental music theatre work produced in Germany. The meeting will be held at Radialsystem V ­ New Space for the Arts in Berlin.

The application form, more information about the meeting and its history can be found at www.iti-germany.de/musictheatrenow, information on the venue under www.radialsystem.de Deadline for submissions is May 16th 2008 (Date as postmark) ITI Germany € Schloss Strasse 48 €D-12165 Berlin € Germany For questions or enquiries pls. contact Annette Doffin € a.doffin@iti-germany.de

JERWOOD OPERA WRITING FELLOWSHIPS

Aldeburgh Music and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation are offering a unique opportunity for composers and their collaborators, to receive tailor-made support for writing a new opera.
Five Fellowships will be awarded, with applications welcome from anyone with little or no experience of opera, including graduates of the recent Jerwood Opera Writing Foundation. We also welcome applications from opera producers.
After an initial selection period stage, five projects will be selected for Fellowships beginning in Summer 2008 and lasting between 18 and 24 months. The Fellowships will offer support to composers and their collaborators (writers, directors, designers) during the creation of a new work, providing advice, practical help (e.g. access to musicians) and a bursary of up to a maximum of £15,000 for each project. At the end of the Fellowship participants will expect to have either a complete work or a well-developed opera project with an advanced text and a substantial amount of music. The Fellowships do not support the first performance, though Aldeburgh Music and other opera producers will be involved throughout.
The deadline for applications is 21 April 2008. For further information please contact Chelsea Lawrence, Opera Administrator,
on 01728 687100, email clawrence@aldeburgh.co.uk.