Interchanging Idioms

left to right: Michael Laurello, Todd Lerew, Kristina Warren Three student composers are chosen from 250+ applicants In partnership with the acclaimed new music ensemble So Percussion, the American Composers Forum is pleased to announce the finalists in the 2014 American Composers Forum National Composition Contest: Michael Laurello (Yale School of Music), Todd Lerew (CalArts), and Kristina Warren (University of Virginia). Each finalist will receive a cash prize and be asked to compose an eight- to ten-minute piece for So Percussion. The resulting pieces will be workshopped with the finalists in residence, and premiered by So Percussion on July 20 at Princeton University, as part of the So Percussion Summer Institute 2014. One of the works will be chosen to receive the final prize, which includes an additional cash award and future public performances by So Percussion. The National Composition Contest is open to composers currently enrolled in graduate and undergraduate inst...

Kronos Quartet Announces KRONOS: UNDER 30 PROJECT / #5 Commissioning program includes mentoring, residency, premiere, + recording Deadline for applications is November 16, 2012 The Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association is pleased to announce the fifth edition of its Kronos: Under 30 Project , a comprehensive commissioning and mentoring program for young composers under the age of 30. Launched in 2003, the Under 30 Project is designed to help nurture the careers of emerging artists, while enabling Kronos to forge stronger connections with the next creative generation. To date, four composers have received commissions through the Kronos: Under 30 Project. Nearly 1,000 applications, coming from 49 countries on six continents, have been personally reviewed by the quartet. From this year’s call for applications, Kronos will select the composer to whom they feel most artistically committed. That composer will be commissioned to write a new work for Kronos in close consultatio...

Six talented composers participated in the 21st annual Underwood New Music Readings -- ACO's roundup of the country's brightest emerging composers, June 1-2. George Manahan conducted new music by Ryan Chase, Peter Fahey, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Paul Kerekes, Pin Hsin Lin and Benjamin Taylor. Several composers blogged about their experiences. (Check below.) Next month we will announce the winner of the coveted $15,000 Underwood commission. Today we are proud to announce that Ryan Chase is the winner of the Audience Choice Award with his thrill-ride, The Light Fantastic. Every audience member who voted will receive a newly composed ringtone from the winner. Congratulations Ryan!

The five finalists for a prize valued at more than $100,000 from the American Pianists Association will be showcased in performance on New York’s classical station, WQXR (105.9 FM and online at wqxr.org) on Wednesday, May 19 at 9pm. There will be a simultaneous broadcast on WFYI in Indianapolis, home of the American Pianists Association. The program, hosted by Robert Sherman, is part of The McGraw Hill Companies Young Artists Showcase. It was recorded last month when the names of the finalists for the 2013 ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association were revealed at Steinway Hall. The Program: Andrew Staupe, 27, will open the broadcast with Pierre Jalbert’s Toccata; followed by Sara Daneshpour, 25, in Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in B minor, K. 27 and Rachmaninov’s Etude-tableau in A minor, Op. 39/6. Claire Huangci, 22 – the youngest finalist – will play three etudes by Alexander Scriabin: Op. 42/3, Op. 8/10, and Op. 8/12. Sean Chen, 23, will pe...

During a media event at Steinway Hall on April 24, the American Pianists Association (APA) revealed the names of the five pianists who are finalists for a prize valued at more than $100,000 – the 2013 ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association. In the coming season, the finalists – selected from America’s foremost young pianists aged 18-30 – will perform in a variety of settings: from solo recital, song, new music, and chamber music to concerto appearances with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. At the conclusion of these and other activities on April 20, 2013, a distinguished panel of international judges will name the APA’s 2013 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellow, a musician with the potential to make significant contributions to American cultural life. “One of the great things about the American Pianists Association is our unique competition format,” stated Joel Harrison, President/CEO and Artistic Director...

The Boston Pops “Visions of America” season will feature a “What’s your Vision of America?” photo contest, which asks contestants to submit an original photograph that captures an aspect of the spirit of America. Five winning photos will be featured as part of Boston Pops concerts this season. To enter the contest, simply email a photo to visions@bso.org with your name, age, location, and a brief caption. Photos will be on display on Facebook and www.bostonpops.org. You can follow the “What’s your Vision of America?” photo contest on twitter using the hashtag #visionsofamerica. The winning photograph will be selected by a panel including Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart and photo-historian Joseph Sohm.

Closing date: 31 March 2012 - The postmark will be deemed to be the date of submission COMPETITION RULES AND CONDITIONS Art. 1 TEM - Taukay Edizioni Musicali and Delta Produzioni Associazione Culturale, with the participation of the Presidente della Repubblica Italiana, with the awards of Senato della Repubblica Italiana, of Camera dei Deputati, of Ministro della Gioventù and Fidapa, the patronage of the Rappresentanza Italiana della Commissione Europea, the Italian National UNESCO Commission, the Ministero degli Affari Esteri, the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, the Università degli Studi di Udine, the Istituto Giapponese di Cultura in Roma and with the support of the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Comune di Udine and the Fondazione CRUP, hereby open the Ninth International Composition Competition “Città di Udine”. Art. 2 The competition is divided in two sections: - instrumental compositions for chamber orchestra - electro-acoustic music. Art. 3 The...

Submission Deadline: March 15, 2012, 5 PM ACO announces CoLABoratory: Playing it UNsafe, a research and development laboratory for the creation, development, workshopping, and performance of experimental new music by American composers. The goal of the program is to encourage composers to experiment and stretch their own musical sensibilities by developing new works (or works-in-progress) that expand the range of possibilities for orchestral music. The program will include an extended series of rehearsals and public workshop/readings over a six-month period during the 2012-13 season, culminating in a performance in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on Friday, April 5, 2013, conducted by ACO music director George Manahan. ACOs artistic staff members Robert Beaser and Derek Bermel, as well as Morton Subotnick, serve as mentor-composers. For more information, submission guidelines and form click here .

Deadline is Dec 2nd EarShot Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra New Music Readings Feb. 22-24, 2012, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY EarShot, the National Composition Discovery Network and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra announce their second annual New Music Readings, a professional development program for emerging composers. BPO associate conductor Matthew Kraemer directs, with mentor composers Margaret Brouwer, Michael Gandolfi, and Derek Bermel. Submission deadline extended: Dec. 2, 2011. For more information

At age 31--32 on November 27--Hahn has already made a lasting impact on the violin repertoire, premiering a concerto by Jennifer Higdon in addition to another by Edgar Meyer and championing both well- and lesser- known works in performance and recording. This season, Hahn delves deeper into the world of contemporary classical music, commissioning over two dozen composers to write short-form pieces for acoustic violin and piano. She will tour these new works over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons and then record them. The project is called In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores. The 26 commissioned composers represent a large range of contemporary music being written today. Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Lera Auerbach, Richard Barrett, Mason Bates, Tina Davidson, David Del Tredici, Avner Dorman, Søren Nils Eichberg, Christos Hatzis, Jennifer Higdon, James Newton Howard, Bun-Ching Lam, David Lang, Edgar Meyer, Paul Moravec, Nico Muhly, Michiru Oshima, Krzysztof Penderecki, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Max...

Deadline for Submissions is October 10; Winner to Perform a Second Set During New York Comedy Festival The tradition of mixing classical music and comedy is long and grand – really! From Victor Borge’s musical slapstick and Danny Kaye conducting orchestras to Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd singing Ride of the Valkyries and Adam Sandler’s “Opera Man” skits, comedians have found humor in a genre better known for its high-brow seriousness than its comic potential. Classical 105.9FM WQXR and legendary comedy club Carolines On Broadway have come together for the WQXR CLASSICAL COMEDY CONTEST, a one-of-a-kind talent contest for performers of all shapes and sizes who combine classical music and humor. Think of Flight of the Conchords headlining Carnegie Hall, or The Lonely Island meets Yo-Yo Ma. This is a singular opportunity for all those comedians with classical music training, or classical musicians who tell a mean joke, or simply for comedians who find classical music funny, to show of...

Juventas New Music Ensemble announces its 2011-2012 Season Semi-Annual Call for Scores. Compositions selected from this call will go into Juventas's repertoire for programing in the 2011-2012 season and beyond. Juventas is seeking chamber works by young, living composers for any instrumentation or length, however preference will be given to works that draw on the Juventas core instrumentation: flute (including piccolo and/or alto flute), clarinet (including Eb, Bb, and bass clarinet), violin, viola, cello, and piano. Additionally, all composers must be age 35 or under as of Janurary 1st of the present year to be eligible for consideration. The application deadline is July 15, 2011. Details and application instructions are available at www.juventasmusic.com .

The deadline to enter the fourteenth annual Welcome Christmas Carol Contest is fast approaching! All applications must be postmarked on or before August 5, 2011. This year, the contest seeks carols for men's (TTBB) chorus accompanied by English horn. Winning composers will receive a prize of $1,000 and will have their carols premiered at the VocalEssence Welcome Christmas concerts on December 3, 4, 9, 10 & 11, 2011. The performances will be recorded for a 2012 national broadcast via American Public Media. Complete information about the VocalEssence / American Composers Forum Welcome Christmas Carol Contest, including complete contest guidelines, submission requirements and information on the selection process is available here and at www.vocalessence.org

The Van Cliburn Sixth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs completed May 29 and, four days later, the president and CEO of the Cliburn Foundation, David Chambless Worters, announced his resignation. The move took staff and recent jury members by total surprise, for he had been in the job just six months.The fit apparently was not a good one-not his "passion," as he told one reporter. "It is time for my personal journey to take me in a new direction," he said in a statement. Worters succeeded Richard Rodzinski just last December, following an international search. Rodzinski had been in the job 23 years.

Winning ensemble receives the chance to perform pre-concert when the BSO presents Rockapella on July 7 To celebrate Rockapella’s performance at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 7:30 p.m., the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announces Orchapella, the BSO’s first-ever singing competition for a cappella music ensembles. Capitalizing on the obsession with choral singing ignited by the hit TV show, GLEE!, the BSO invites local singers of all ages to submit a YouTube video of their group performing a song of their choosing for the chance to win the opportunity to open for Rockapella at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. To participate, a cappella ensembles of 2-10 members must fill out the form located at BSOmusic.org/orchapella , providing their contact information and a link to their video. Registration deadline is Tuesday, June 21. The BSO will select three semi-finalists and post their videos on the BSO’s facebook site beginning Tuesday, June 28 at ...

TO PARTICIPATE UPLOAD A VIDEO OF A PERFORMANCE OF “OVER THE RAINBOW” TO YOUTUBE AND EMAIL A LINK OF THE YOUTUBE VIDEO WITH CONTACT INFO TO OVERTHERAINBOW@BSO.ORG The Boston Pops is inviting singers and music fans from around the country to submit video renditions of “Over the Rainbow” for possible inclusion in a video collage to be shown at Boston Pops performances throughout the 2011 Boston Pops season, May 11-June 26. Participants of all ages can submit video of themselves singing all or part of “Over the Rainbow,” by uploading a video to YouTube and emailing a link, contact info, and geographical location to overtherainbow@bso.org. Videos chosen to be part of the “Over the Rainbow” season-long video collage will also be featured on the Boston Pops YouTube channel and on the Boston Pops website www.bostonpops.org . All video submissions are due by Tuesday, April 26, 2011. “Whether an amateur, professional, or just a shower singer, we hope singers of every age and level of ability...

Ryan Speedo Green, an ensemble member of Opera Colorado's Young Artists, was named one of five winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York on Sunday, March 13. The winners were selected from eight finalists who performed arias with the Met Orchestra, conducted by Patrick Summers. Each winner receives a cash prize of $15,000 and even more importantly, the opportunity to launch a major operatic career. The Grand Finals Concert was hosted by renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. During the judges' deliberations, tenor Lawrence Brownlee, a Met star and 2001 Auditions winner, gave a special performance featuring "Je crois entendre encore" from Les Pêcheurs de Perles and "Ah! mes amis" from La Fille du Régiment. The Grand Finals Concert was recorded for broadcast at a later date on public radio stations across the United States. Check local listings for air times. Nearly 1,500 singers between the ages of 20 and 30 years old partici...

Ryan Speedo Green, an ensemble member of Opera Colorado's Young Artists, won the Rocky Mountain regional competition of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions on Saturday, January 29, and advances to the national semi-final competition in New York City in early March. The competition took place at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver and featured eleven singers competing for the chance to compete on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. The National Council Auditions have helped to discover many major opera talents over the past 56 years. Approximately 100 former participants in the auditions appear on the Metropolitan Opera's roster every season. Nearly half of those are former national winners. Renee Fleming, Susan Graham, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hampson, Deborah Voigt and many other opera luminaries were once winners of the Met Auditions. "Ryan's performance brought about an electricity in the audience that was thrilling to feel," said Step...

In 2011 five International Music Competitions will be organized: - "Val Tidone" Young Talents Competition     Sections: Piano, Accordion, Strings, Chamber Music - "Silvio Bengalli" Piano Prize - "Contessa Tina Orsi Anguissola Scotti"     Chamber Music Prize - "Carlo Civardi" Accordion Prize - "Egidio Carella" Composition Competition Besides that, a Special Prize for Folk Music will be assigned. We will offer money prizes and concerts in Europe and Asia (2011 edition total prizes amount: euro 26.000,00 + 10 concerts), publication and performance of the selected scores. The Val Tidone International Music Competitions require high professional standard. Therefore a prize obtained in those contests represents a valuable passport toward an international career. For more information visit www.valtidone-competitions.com

Winners receive tickets to see Tony Hoard and his dogs perform in BSO’s Holiday Spectacular To celebrate Tony Hoard and his pack of talented Australian Shepherds’ participation in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) sixth annual Holiday Spectacular, the BSO will host “Canine Spectacular.” Dog-owners are invited to submit a video of their own talented Canine by Wednesday, December 8, 2010 for the chance to win eight tickets to the BSO’s Holiday Spectacular. Tony Hoard will select the five best videos, which will then be posted on the BSO’s Facebook page at noon on Thursday, December 9 through noon on Monday, December 13. During that time, BSO fans can vote on their favorite video by hitting “like.” To participate in Canine Spectacular: To participate, email K9Spectacular@BSOmusic.org by midnight on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 with the following information: - Dog-owner’s full name - Dog’s name - Dog owner’s daytime phone number and preferred emai...