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The Florida Orchestra Student Composition Competition

 The Florida Orchestra Student Composition Competition
Summary:Orchestra Competition (Florida Students)
Deadline: 21 December 2018
Date Posted: 26 June 2018
Details: The Florida Orchestra will open its Student Composition Competition to all Florida universities and colleges with a music composition department, encompassing about a dozen schools. The competition underscores TFO’s commitment to education and to music as a living art form, focusing on Florida talent.

Music Director Michael Francis and a panel of TFO staff and musicians will choose the winning work, which the orchestra will premiere on the final TFO Masterworks series concerts May 24-26, 2019. The winner also will receive a $1,000 honorarium.

Student Composer Competition Guidelines
The Florida Orchestra is opening the following opportunity to universities and colleges to select an original work to be performed by The Florida Orchestra, written by a student composer currently enrolled in a music degree program in the state of Florida. Composition departments may submit up to two student compositions for the statewide competition. Holding an internal competition to select the student work to be submitted from each university or college is suggested, but at the discretion of each school’s composition department. The winning composition will be selected by The Florida Orchestra’s Music Director, Michael Francis, along with an advisory panel of TFO musicians and staff, and will be featured on the final TFO Masterworks series performances May 24-26, 2019.

General Guidelines:
• Each university or college may submit up to two student works for consideration. Submissions must be made by a school representative on behalf of the student(s) selected.
• The competition is open to any composition major, regardless of specific discipline (i.e. classical or jazz composition), or degree program (i.e. bachelors or masters).
• The winning composer will receive an honorarium of $1000 and his/her work will be featured at the final Masterworks series performances May 24-26, 2019.
• The duration of the work should be between three and six minutes.
• The instrumentation for the work must not exceed an orchestration of:
*3*3*3*3-4331 timpani, 3 percussion, harp, piano/celeste, and strings. Standard percussion instruments only (list be provided upon request).

Important dates:
• December 21, 2018: Deadline for schools to submit complete student score(s) and accompanying materials for consideration
• January 11, 2019: Finalists announced
• February 19, 2019: Finalists’ printed orchestral parts delivered to The Florida Orchestra
• March 26, 2019: Reading session with The Florida Orchestra of finalist works in the Tampa Bay area
• March 29, 2019: Winning composer/composition announced
• May 24-26, 2019: Performances in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater with The Florida Orchestra; Michael Francis, conductor.

Submission packets must include the following:
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae summary of no more than 1-3 pages
• Artist Statement about the piece submitted for consideration
• Full score [.PDF] and accompanying .wav or midi soundfile realization of the submitted score.
o Score should be in an 11” x 17” format
o Additional guidelines regarding formatting are available in the attached MOLA Music

Preparation Guidelines pamphlet.
o The composer’s name should not appear on the score or recording.

• Deadline for all materials to be received electronically is Friday, December 21, 2018, by midnight. Materials should be submitted to Erin Horan, Community Engagement Director, via

Dropbox or Hightail link sent to Library@floridaorchestra.org.

Selection process:
• Up to four (4) finalists will be chosen for the student reading with The Florida Orchestra on March 26, 2019. The first round will be a blind process and the committee members will have no knowledge of composers or their school affiliation or background.
• Finalists who reside 100 miles or more from Tampa will receive lodging in the Tampa Bay area for the evening before the reading.
• Selection of winner will be decided by TFO Music Director, Michael Francis, and an advisory group of TFO staff and musicians
• The winning composition will be selected by March 29, 2019.

Prize:
• The winning composition will be featured on the final TFO Masterworks concert cycle in May 2019, conducted by Music Director, Michael Francis.
• The winning composer will receive an honorarium of $1000 provided by The Florida Orchestra upon the completion of the performances.
• The winning composer will receive a mutually agreed upon number of complimentary tickets to each of the Masterworks performances that include their work. (based on availability)
• If the winning composer resides 50 miles or more from Tampa, they will receive lodging in the Tampa Bay area during the week of performance for mutually agreed-upon dates.
For any questions about The Florida Orchestra’s Student Composer Competition, please contact Erin

Horan, Community Engagement Director, at ehoran@floridaorchestra.org.


Web Site:www.floridaorchestra.org/education-community/young-musicians/tfo-student-composer-competition/
Email:ehoran@floridaorchestra.org