Composition Prize

Contact Info, Fee, and Score Submission:

Friday December 15th 2017
11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

The online entry system automatically turns off at this date and time and no further entries will be permitted. Please do not wait until the last minute to avoid technical issues with web browsers, internet connection, PayPal, etc.!

Winner(s) announced: Monday January 15th 2018

The Camerata Composition Prize is open for entries to composers anywhere in the world each year from mid-October to mid-December, with winners announced in mid-January of the following year. Our distinguished jury of composition and choral conducting faculty at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) evaluate the anonymously submitted scores.

The quality of submitted works has risen dramatically over the last decade, with many of our selected winners already enjoying distinguished composition careers. We encourage composers of all ages, backgrounds, and musical genres to submit! It’s a treat for us to read through the creative works sent each year, and we look forward to the possibility of recording or performing works by talented living composers.

Submission Guidelines

• One score per composer per entry.
• Anonymous submission. Your name may not appear anywhere in the submitted score!
• Past winners may enter again after one year off following their winning submission. (Ex: a winner in 2002 would be eligible to enter again in 2004.)
• Entry fee of $25 must be paid online through PayPal (no checks). The fee covers administrative costs of running the prize program. The fee must be received by the submission deadline for your work to be considered.
• Mixed choir (SATB), maximum divisi SSAATTBB.
• Unaccompanied. Please provide a piano reduction. Recordings or MIDI are welcome but not required.
• Texts may be sacred or secular.
• Letter of permission from copyright owner absolutely must accompany any submissions using texts not in the public domain (yes, we check all texts!) No exceptions.
• Duration: no longer than 5 minutes.

Eligibility

• Entrants may be of any nationality and age.
• Pieces may have been previously performed, but not published.
• We consider a work ‘published’ once its score is available in print or electronic form for payment through any outlet.

Prize

$500 First Prize. A Second Prize ($250) may also be awarded when merited. However, the jury also reserves the right to not award any prizes when submissions are not deemed of sufficient quality or conformance to guidelines.

Depending on season programming and time commitments, the Camerata may also perform winning compositions live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Alternatively, the Camerata may choose to record a winning composition, in which case the winning composer would be provided with a digital copy of the final recording.

Questions

Please submit any questions you have about eligibility or details of your entry to Ellen Harrison, Jury Chair at ellen.harrison@uc.edu. Please contact webmaster@cincinnaticamerata.com if you have any technical issues with your submission or payment.

• 1999 Rick Sowash “All Flesh is Grass”
• 2000 Wes Flinn “April”
• 2001 Andrew Duncan “Alleluia”
• 2002 Steve McManaman “Alleluia”
• 2005 Timothy Stephens “In Flanders Fields”
• 2006 Sharon Farber “The Third Mother”
• 2008 Jere Hutcheson “Beehive”
• 2009 Mike D’Ambrosio “Wind on the Island”
• 2010 Robert Paterson “Eternal Reflections”
• 2012 Costas Dafnis “Virgo Mater Regina”
• 2013 Michael Gilbertson “Where the Words Go”
• 2014 Loretta Notareschi “Pace Pace Pace”
• 2015 1st Place: Cristopher Artley “Qui Creavit Caelum”
• 2015 2nd Place: Matthew Recio “How to Survive Vesuvius”
• 2016 C.G. (Sonny) Walden III “Set Me as a Seal”