The deadline for the 2020 competition has passed. Please join our mailing list for announcements on winning works and future opportunities.

Abundant Silence is excited to announce that our 5th Composition Contest is now open for submissions!
​This year's contest will include Solo Piano, Collaborative Piano, Educational Piano, and Art Song categories.
Composers can win up to $2000 in cash awards, with additional benefits for all composers who are selected for an award.
Please carefully review the guidelines below and contact us if you have any questions.
​Happy composing!

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Guidelines

Please read the Eligibility, Awards, Guidelines, and About and Selection Process below for complete information.  
​No entry donation refunds will be granted to compositions/composers that do not fit our criteria.
Applicants can now submit a work in each category!

Eligibility

• Composers must be age 18+ (composers from all levels of professional experience are encouraged to apply, must 18 years old on or before July 31st, 2020)
• Composers cannot be a previous winner of this contest, a current 'composer member' of Abundant Silence, or directly related to a current 'composer member' on the Abundant Silence roster
• Composers of all nationalities are eligible
• Composers cannot be in an exclusive publishing contract with another publisher

awardS
(Categories: Solo Piano, Collaborative Piano, Educational Piano, Art Song - Please Read Guidelines for each category)

1. First Place winner for each category will receive $500
2. Up to Three (3) Honorable Mention winners chosen from any category will receive $100
3. Up to One (1) special "Adventurous & Innovative" prize chosen from all submissions will receive $100, can include experimental elements, graphic or alternative notation, or sound art.

Additionally:
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All winning compositions will be published through Abundant Silence within 2 years of contest completion and all winning composers will become a 'composer member' of the Abundant Silence roster (composers keep their copyrights and are paid standard royalty rates...for questions regarding our contracts please contact our Executive Director, Luke Rackers).  Composers will receive two gratis copies of their sheet music upon publication.

The winning compositions will be performed, recorded, and live streamed by professional ensembles during one of our New Music Uncaged events in the United States, or, in lieu of a live performance, the winning works may be video taped instead (dependent on available of performers and ability to conduct live performances during the pandemic).  It may take up to 2 years for winning works to be programmed at one of our annual events or video taped, dependent upon event location and available musicians/ensembles.

Guildelines

General Guidelines for All Categories

• a complete work, no single movements of a multi-movement work will be accepted
• works should be a minimum of 3 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes (maximum 7 minutes for Art Song Category)
• works must be original, no arrangements will be accepted
• one submission per category is allowed with a separate form entry required for each category (composers are allowed to win in more than one category)
• works must have been written within the last 5 years and cannot be published or owned by another entity
• audio recordings are required (MIDI realization acceptable)
• scores should be submitted as a PDF

Additional Guidelines by Category

Category 1: Solo Piano

• an original work for solo piano
• prepared piano, electro-acoustic elements (amplified instruments or non-interactive), or other creative elements allowed
• multi-movement works are allowed as long as total time is under 15 minutes

Category 2: Collaborative Piano

• an original collaborative piano work for 2-4 players
• available instrumentation: piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, oboe, alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion (vibraphone, xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, drum set, wood block, congas, bongos, triangle, cow bell, cymbals, chimes, other small hand percussion including non-traditional or found items), prepared piano, electro-acoustic elements (amplified instruments or non-interactive).
• any combination of the above instrumentation will be accepted but no more than 2 of any single instrument
• multi-movement works are allow as long as total time is under 15 minutes

Category 3: Educational Piano

• an original work for solo piano
• difficulty level of the work should be between mid-elementary and late-intermediate
• prepared piano, electro-acoustic elements (amplified instruments or non-interactive), or other creative elements allowed
• collections and multi-movement works are allowed, for instance, a collection of three 60 second pieces is a great way to get to the 3 minute minimum

Category 4: Art Song, Sponsored by Art Song Colorado, formerly Denver Art Song Project

• an original solo work for any voice type and piano (no prepared piano)
• text in English or/and vocalise
• text must be original, in the Public Domain, or have written licensing permission from author or trust for use in the work
• maximum length of 7 minutes, multi-movement works allowed

About the contest and selection

This is the fifth round of our Composition Contest.  Winning this Composition Contest is now the primary way to become a 'composer member' of Abundant Silence.  Abundant Silence is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the work of living composers and connecting composers and their work to students and local communities.  We work as an advocate for composers and design programming to encourage the creation of new work.  Click here for more information about our mission.  

Members of the Abundant Silence board of directors and music directors from our partner ensembles will vote on the final winning compositions.  Winners will be announced no later than January 31st, 2021. Please allow us additional time for editing the work, publishing the work, and sending the work to partner ensembles for rehearsal (ensembles are chosen based on location and commitment to performing new music).

Please note that we do not give individual feedback on works that are submitted.  You will only be personally contacted by a member of the organization if your work is selected.  Please sign up to our mailing list or follow us on FaceBook to receive up to date information on the progress of the 2020 contest.

Submission & Donation Request

Please be sure to have all information prepared for the required fields below.  An audio recording is required (MIDI realization is acceptable; please contact us if there is an issue meeting this requirement).  Even though final judging is blind, we encourage you to submit as much information as you can to help make the process go smoothly if your work is selected.  If you would like to submit a work to each category, please be sure to submit a separate form for each work. Please note that only one composition per composer per category will be reviewed. We are requesting a donation for each composition that you submit to help support this program. However, all submissions will be considered regardless of donation amount. If you are unable to donate due to financial hardship, your application will still be received when you click submit on the form below. After submitting the application you will be directed to a confirmation page containing donation information.

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Program Sponsors:

Listening to Ladies Podcast

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Congratulations to the 2018 winners!
Art Song
First Place: Bagatelles Chantées by Alexander Liebermann
Honorable Mentions:
On the Wing, a Song Cycle in Celebration of Birds by Andrew List
Remember Me by Melissa Douglas

Chamber Ensemble
First Place: Retro Non by Tatev Amiryan
Honorable Mentions:
A Color Palette by R. Michael Daugherty
Lines Between by Robert Laidlow
Innovative Award: Peach Blossom Spring by Shum Chi Wing Natalie

Solo Works
First Place: Three Scenes for Solo Cello by Joshua Fishbein
Honorable Mentions:
Tristesse by Tatev Amiryan
Forces of Flight by Isaac Villaroya
Educational Award: Dust by Garrison Gerard

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