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Deadline for submission of entries: Friday, October 15, 2021
Montreal, June 23 2021 – The Université de Montréal Faculty of Music, thanks to the support of the Sophie Desmarais Fund for the Université de Montréal Big Band and in collaboration with the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal, presents a brand new composition competition for large jazz ensemble.
The Sophie Desmarais International Composition Competition for Large Jazz Ensemble offers participating composers two categories:
- A student component for those 30 and under, with a prize of $1,500
- An open component (with no age limit), with a prize of $2,500
The winning works will be performed in a world premiere on November 25, 2021, as part of a concert held at Salle Claude-Champagne. Candidates from Canada and abroad are eligible for the Competition and can enter free of charge.
Applications must be sent before 15 October 2021 to [email protected]
A prestigious jury
The works submitted will be evaluated by well-known artists:
- Ron Di Lauro, associate professor, head of jazz programs at the Faculty of Music and music director of the Université de Montréal Big Band (Montreal, Canada)
- Jean-Nicolas Trottier, teacher of jazz composition and arrangement at the Faculty of Music and music director of the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal (Montreal, Canada)
- Christine Jensen (Montreal, Canada)
- Marianne Trudel (Montreal, Canada)
- Fred Stride (Vancouver, Canada)
- Pierre Bertrand (Paris, France)
Selection criteria:
- Candidates must compose and arrange an original new jazz work, for large jazz ensemble. The instrumental forces are:
- 4 trumpets
- 3 trombones
- 1 bass trombone
- 5 saxophones (2 altos, 2 tenors, 1 baritone; or else 1 soprano, 1 alto, 2 tenors, 1 baritone)
- 1 guitar
- 1 piano
- 1 double bass or electric bass
- 1 drum kit
- Vocalist (optional)
- Latin percussion (optional)
- The work must not have been performed in concert or have been previously recorded.
- All candidates must submit a transposed score of the work, as well as an audio demo. Any score deemed incomplete by the jury will be rejected.
- According to the category, any work not complying with the requested minimum or maximum duration will not be considered.
Evaluation criteria:
- Quality of the composition (melodic contour, harmony, form, textures, etc.)
- Quality of the arrangement techniques (orchestration, harmonization, overall form of the arrangement)
- Level of detail and clarity of the master score and the individual scores
- Overall artistic quality of the work
Category 1: student component (30 and under)
- Candidates must be fulltime students at a recognized educational institution.
- The submitted work must have a duration of 5 to 7 minutes.
Prize:
- A prize of $1,500
- Concert performance (world premiere) and recording of the work on November 25, 2021, at the Faculty of Music’s Salle Claude-Champagne by the Université de Montréal Big Band
Category 2: open component (no age limit)
- This category is open to all composers.
- The submitted work must have a duration of 8 to 10 minutes.
Prize:
- A prize of $2,500
- Concert performance (world premiere) and recording of the work on November 25, 2021, at the Faculty of Music’s Salle Claude-Champagne by the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal.
Information:
Ron Di Lauro
Jean-Nicolas Trottier
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
