17/05/2020
International Composition Competition
AERCO: my first 50 years
AERCO, Associazione Emiliano Romagnola Cori, with the support of the Creative Initiatives Development Fund, announces the International Competition for Choral Composition ‘AERCO: My First Fifty Years’, the chief aim of which is to promote the creation and wide distribution of new and innovative choral repertoire, especially in difficult times like nowadays.
1. Participation is open to composers of any nationality and any age.
2. The Competition is dedicated to choral compositions a cappella, divided in two categories as follow:
Cat. 1: (eight parts, S-S-A-A-T-T-B-B)* with a maximum duration of 7 (seven) minutes. The text of the composition, in Italian, English or Latin, written for the occasion or pre-existing, should be in the public domain. If not, permission in writing must be obtained from the author or copyright holder of the text and must be enclosed with the entry form.
Cat. 2: (six parts, Ct-Ct-T-Br-Br-B)* with a maximum duration of 7 (seven) minutes. For the vocal range, please have a look to attached document. The text of the composition, in Italian, English or Latin, written for the occasion or pre-existing, should be in the public domain. If not, permission in writing must be obtained from the author or copyright holder of the text and must be enclosed with the entry form.
3. A maximum of two works per composer may be submitted (one for each category or two belonging to the same category). All entries must be sent using the electronic form available here by 11:59 pm (Italian time) on 30 September 2020 at the latest.
4. Entry fee is 40 Euros for the first piece submitted and 25 Euros for the second. All composers should remit payment through our PayPal account, accessible from the same electronic form or by bank transfer.
5. Scores shall be sent electronically (through the form) in PDF format made from Sibelius or Finale files or in a similar program. The composer’s name shall not appear anywhere on any score. AERCO Competition Office will receive all works, which will then be sent to jury members. No composer’s identity will be divulged to the jury before or during judging. The jury’s decision will be announced in the AERCO website by the end of December 2020. The application form contains also a written, signed statement by the composer declaring that any score submitted is unpublished, has been composed within the last seven years, was never performed before and has never been awarded a prize in any previous contest.
6. The competition will be judged by a jury consisting of international choral conductors and composers: Philip Lawson (President, UK) – Anna Ungureanu (RO) – Alexander Solovyev (RUS) - Mark Anthony Carpio (PH) – Barnaby Smith (UK) – Matteo Salvemini (IT) – Aivis Greters (LV). The jury’s decision is final. The winning work must demonstrate excellence of composition, ‘sing-ability’, choice of the text, idiomatic effectiveness. A number of Special Prizes may be awarded at the jury’s discretion.
7. The winning work of each category will receive a cash prize of 2.000 Euros, will be published by Hal Leonard Europe and will be premièred by the Voces8 (cat. 1) and by The King’s Singers (cat.2) within one year after the announcement of the result or as soon as is practicable thereafter. The runner-up of each category (second place) will be published by Hal Leonard Europe and will be premièred by the National Chamber Choir Madrigal-Marin Constantin (cat. 1) and by the Philippine Madrigal Singers (cat. 2) within one year after the announcement of the result or as soon as is practicable thereafter. The Choir Kamēr, the Emilia Romagna Youth Choir and the Chamber Choir of Moscow Conservatoire will premiere, within one year after the announcement of the result or as soon as is practicable thereafter, one or more of the selected pieces participating to the category 1 of the Competition.
8. Compositions submitted to the competition shall be deemed the Intellectual Property of the submitting composer and any rights relating to this shall remain with the composer. The winners, runners up and other awarded pieces shall grant to the selected groups the right to premiere the winning pieces within 12 months by announcement of the winners. No public performance shall be allowed prior to the premiere performance without consent of AERCO. Should the selected groups be prevented from giving the premiere within this time frame, the composer shall be free to have the composition premiered elsewhere. AERCO shall not have to pay any additional fee to the composer for any audio and/or video recordings of the performance. All winning works should be marked, whenever possible, as one of the winning entries of International Competition for Choral Composition ‘AERCO: My First Fifty Years’ on the music score cover or in the concert programme.
9. Participation in the competition implies full knowledge and acceptance of these regulations.
*Voices Set
S: Soprano – Ct: Countertenor - A: Alto – T: Tenor – Br: Baritone – B: Bass
