the digital composer-in-residence competition
Dilettante Presents the Digital Composer-in-Residence Project
The composition submission deadline was 1st September 2009. Online voting for your Digital Composer-in-Residence starts 15th October.
Connect to the Dilettante DCR profile to keep up-to-date with the competition.
The Project
The Digital Composer-In-Residence Project is a unique competition uniting online and offline music. The project re-defines the concept of a Composer-in-Residence for the Digital Age and provides the winner with a sustained platform to promote their music and engage with users on the Dilettante website.
The project begins with the search for the world’s first Digital Composer-in-Residence.
How it works:
• A panel of judges will select three finalists whose works will be recorded by the London Sinfonietta and posted on the Dilettante site.
• Visitors to the site will then have the opportunity to listen and choose the winner by voting for their favourite piece. 15 October – 5 November 2009
• All three finalists' works will be performed by the London Sinfonietta, and the winner of the competition will be announced at a live concert at Wilton’s Music Hall (London, UK) on the 5th November 2009.
The winner will receive the Digital Composer-in-Residence Award worth £1000, and a year-long digital residency on the Dilettante website, including a Composer’s Corner blog on the homepage and a podcast series. They will also lead online masterclasses and take part in forum discussions with Dilettante members. The residency will conclude with a live event in 2010, which will include a performance of a new work.
Anyone can enter, but you do need to be a Dilettante member (if you’re not already) and joining Dilettante is free. Find out how to enter the competition.
The Judges
Andrew Burke
Former head of LSO Discovery, the London Symphony Orchestra's community and education programme, and current Chief Executive of London Sinfonietta Andrew has previously worked in education roles at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and at Blackheath Concert Halls in South East London.
Michael Christie
The music director of the Phoenix Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Colorado Music Festival, Michael Christie first came to international attention in 1995 when he was awarded a special prize at the First International Sibelius Conductors' Competition in Helsinki. He was then invited to become an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently worked with Daniel Barenboim in Chicago and Berlin. He has embarked on a range of interdisciplinary collaborations with visual artists, dance companies, and theatre groups, along with contemporary composers such as Ligeti, Golijov and Tan Dun.
One of America’s most frequently performed composers, Higdon’s recent commissions include works for the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Tokyo and Ying Quartets. In 2005, the Telarc release Higdon: Concerto for Orchestra / City Scape earned a Grammy award. A winner of both Pew and Guggenheim fellowships, Higdon holds the Milton L Rock Chair in Compositional Studies at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Anna Meredith
A British composer of acoustic and electronic music, Anna Meredith was the Composer in Residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 2004-2007. Her new work, which was commissioned by the BBC, will premiere at the BBC Proms on 9th August 2009.
Nico Muhly
A rising star in contemporary composition, the Juilliard graduate’s work was featured in the Oscar-winning film The Reader. Muhly’s compositions have been performed by the American Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony and many others. In 2006, his work It Remains to be Seen was commissioned by Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute Orchestra to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
The London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is one of the world's leading contemporary ensmbles. It is committed to placing new music at the heart of contemporary culture and pushing boundaries; the ensemble regularly undertakes projects with choreographers, video artists, film-makers and collaborations with electronica artists, jazz and folk musicians. The London Sinfonietta are resident at The Southbank, with their headquarters at London's newest concert venue Kings Place.
Find out more about the London Sinfonietta on their website >>
Connect with the London Sinfonietta's Dilettante profile >>
Online Voting: 15th October – 5th November
Once the judges have made their selection, we’ll record the three finalists works and post them on the site so you can choose the winner by voting for your favourite piece. We’ll let you know how and where nearer the time.
The Concert: Wilton’s Music Hall, London, 5th November 2009
The concert at Wilton’s marks the culmination of the competition and the winner will be announced live that evening. It also marks the beginning of the Digital Composer’s residency on Dilettante.
All three finalists will programme their own section of the concert, which will include their submitted composition and a piece of chamber music that influenced or inspired them.
Performances from the London Sinfonietta will be accompanied by a DJ serving up an ambient mix of music before and after the performance.
More information about how you can buy tickets to the event will be announced nearer the time.
How to Enter
To enter the Digital Composer-in-Residence competition please send:
- A printable PDF of your score
- A sound file of your submission (midi files are accepted if no other option is available)
- The name of a piece of music by a composer that has influenced you, that you would programme at the live event in November. See guidlines below for more detail.
You can either post your entry to:
Digital Composer-in-Residence Competition
Dilettante Music
Suite 5
46 Manchester Street
London W1U 7LS
ENGLAND
Or email your score in pdf format, along with your recording and influencial piece of music to composer@dilettantemusic.com
Guidelines:
• Entries should not exceed 8 minutes in length
• Maximum scoring/instrumentation cannot exceed 8 instruments, and should be selected from: violin (1 or 2), viola, cello, piano, trumpet, flute, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, double bass, electronics and voice(s), or any combination therein.
• It is not a requirement that works be composed specifically for the competition, however works that have already been professionally recorded and distributed cannot be submitted.
• Submissions should also include a brief paragraph discussing your influences, with particular reference to the work you have submitted. Please highlight the individual work you would programme at the finalists concert. If you are a finalist, this ‘influential work’ will be performed at the 5th November concert. For this reason, it must be a chamber work for a maximum of eight instruments as detailed in the instrumentation guidelines above.
• Entrants may enter only one composition
• Anyone can enter, but you do need to be a Dilettante member (if you’re not already) and joining Dilettante is free. You can register on Dilettante here >>
The closing date for entries is 1 September 2009. Entries received after this date will not be considered.
The Digital Composer-in-Residence is a ‘virtual’ residency, so the winner will be expected to participate in a number of online activities on the Dilettante site.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the competition, or you're not sure about something, feel free to email us on composer@dilettantemusic.com