This Call for Scores is for new works or works that have been previously submitted for IGH. Please do not submit more than 6 pieces.
Performances: Portland – Saturday, July 11, 2020, at 3:00 PM; Eugene – Sunday, April 19, 2020, at 3:00 PM
Venues: Portland State University, Lincoln Hall, Room 75; Unity of the Valley Church, Eugene
Submission Deadline (please read carefully): 11:59 PM PST, Monday, February 10, 2020, for submissions to the Portland concert. To ensure that works are considered for the Eugene concert, please submit them by January 27. Works submitted after that date might be considered for Eugene, but there is no guarantee.
Eligibility: All Cascadia members in good standing for 2020 (don’t forget to renew)
Instrumentation: Piano solo; one piano, 4 hands; one piano, 6 hands
Further information about the concerts: Please note, there are two IGH concerts in 2020, one in Portland and one in Eugene, featuring local groups of teachers and students. The concerts very likely will have different programs. Both will draw from works submitted by January 27, but later submissions might only be considered for Portland.
To help you tailor your work to the abilities of the piano students who will be available, we’ve included the 10 level OMTA syllabus and appended it to the submission procedure below. Teachers would like more music for beginners and early intermediate students. Please remember that many of our talented students have small hands. Big chords and stretches don’t work. However, if you come up with an interesting pattern, you can repeat it all over the keyboard and even the younger students will enjoy playing it. A good plan is to write music that sounds harder than it is.
For more examples, the Royal Conservatory (Frederick Harris Music Co.) has a series of graded books that contain excellent repertoire from all the periods of music history, called Celebration Series. The contemporary pieces are creative, appealing, and student friendly. The grades of these books correspond to the OMTA syllabus levels (for an above average student, typical for IGH).
Consider writing a set or suite (e.g. 5 pieces, totaling about 6’ – five different students may perform the set).
Composers will present a rose to each teacher and student performing their pieces. The cost, for the composer, of each rose is about $5, or $10 for the two.) Cascadia will buy the roses and coordinate their distribution, but the composers will pay for them, up to a maximum of $40.
Composers are expected to present a “published” (may be self-published) hardcopy to the student performer and one to her teacher.
Composers agree to work with “their” students before the concert. These sessions may take place through the computer (Skype/FaceTime) or teachers might send recordings to composers. The composers will evaluate performances and send comments (positive and suggestions) back to teachers. This collaboration must be completed 4 weeks prior to the IGH concert.
Submission procedure: Anonymous submission. Remove or blank out anything on the score or other submitted media which identifies the composer. Check authorship, copyright notices, logos, program notes, performance notes, and so forth. Please do not submit more than 6 works.
Submit the following through the submission form on the NewMusicEngine website:
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Score in PDF format. Make sure nothing on the score identifies the composer. Include any performance notes. Add the OMTA level if you’re reasonably sure about it. Program notes are entirely optional. Duration is no longer required on the score; enter it directly into the form in the format shown.
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Recording if available (MIDI is ok if none is) in MP3 format. A link may be submitted instead, if more convenient or if your MP3 does not upload for some reason. Make sure nothing in an MP3 player window or the link identifies the composer.
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Bio and program notes, 150 words each or less, in the text boxes provided. These won’t be accessible to the teachers selecting music. If there’s some aspect of the score or recording you feel needs an additional explanatory note, briefly and anonymously comment in the submission form’s annotation text box. Please do not submit complete program notes in the annotation box.
Selection process: Scores and soundfiles will be downloaded to a Dropbox, where teachers and their students will review them and make their selections. Teachers will be asked to notify composers when one of their students selects the composer’s piece.
Questions? For the Portland concert, please contact Jan Mittelstaedt: janrmitt@gmail.com or Daniel Brugh: daniel.brugh@yahoo.com
For questions about the Eugene concert, please contact Paul Safar: info@cblossom.org
(For questions about the submission process or form, contact Jeff Winslow: jeffw@rdrop.com)