Call for scores: Emory University Symphony Orchestra in the US

The selected composer will receive $3 500 to create a new composition (that has not yet been performed or published) of approximately 10 minutes. This amount includes a $2 000 commission fee and $1 500 to defray travel and related costs. The selected composer will be responsible for arranging their own travel for two trips to attend the workshops and the premiere in Atlanta, Georgia.

A collaborative process is important for this project. Therefore, the orchestra will be available to read short passages, excerpts, and provide recordings and feedback during the fall. The composer and conductor will devise a process-oriented timeline for the fall.

The selected composer must commit to travelling to Atlanta, Georgia, twice in 2022. First, for three consecutive days (TBD) to workshop the score in January and again from 21 to 24 April for final rehearsals and the premiere.

The selected composer must also submit scores and parts no later than 5 January, with revisions due by 10 February.

Note: All the dates are subject to pandemic-related changes.

Apart from the commission fee and travel allowance, the selected composer will receive:

• Two preliminary workshop rehearsals with a full, conducted symphony orchestra to facilitate revision.
• The opportunity to work directly with a conducted symphony orchestra in multiple rehearsals in preparation for the premiere.
• A premiere performance in Atlanta’s Schwartz Centre for Performing Arts for a live audience.
• A professional-quality recording (audio and video) of the premiere performance.

Eligibility criteria

• Any BIPOC female-identifying composer.
• Composers of any age and at any stage of their career, from student to professional, are all encouraged to apply.
• Scores will be judged, in part, relative to the career stage of the composer. Extensive experience writing for a symphony orchestra is not required.

To apply, composers should submit the following items:

• Two to three compositions for consideration. These compositions may be any genre or instrumentation – with one of these compositions employing traditional notation and a notated score (submitted as a pdf file). Recordings of compositions shared as URLs will also be accepted, but are not required.
• Composers should state what motivates them artistically in a written statement (up to 500 words) or a video URL (not more than five minutes in duration) describing their creative voice, work, artistic goals, and what they would like to accomplish in the project.
• Materials should be uploaded in a single file here.

The submission deadline is 15 August.

Composers with further questions can email paul.bhasin@emory.edu.

View the original call here.