How to structure a competition for new compositions

When I was on the Council of the Society of Organists in 2006-07, preparations were under way for marking the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the Society in 1938.  One of the initiatives proposed for the celebrations was a competition for a new organ piece by a local composer.

This was a very good initiative, and a forward-looking one that marked a commitment to the organ as part of the present-day furniture of musical life.  I was excited by it, but the proposed structure for the competition was deeply disappointing.  The original plan was to offer one very large cash prize, and a second prize of a substantially smaller sum, along with the guarantee of a performance of the winning pieces during the anniversary year.

Now, there's nothing wrong with cash and performances -- after all, these are the lifeblood of a healthy musical culture -- but I had deep concerns about the likelihood of the competition coming up with a choice between three or four pieces, which would never see the light of day after the premiere performance if publication did not follow. I refer to this as the Big Bang Effect .

Another aspect of the original regulations that worried me was the use of undefined jargon.  I took on the categories for "liturgical" and "free" pieces, but made sure the definitions were clear enough to be useful to a composer who would be blissfully ignorant of the ways these terms signify to organists.  The biggest fight in getting my version of the competition rules was over the use of the term "liturgical" -- particularly the extent to which it should be required to make use of existing material, such as hymn tunes and suchlike.  I think this requirement was an imperative, otherwise we would have ended up with two categories asking for the same thing.  You'll see how this was resolved below the jump.

Below the jump you will find the final version of the regulations I proposed, and which were accepted for the competition.

The worth of a pudding is in the tasting, as the saying goes.  The competition garnered nearly 30 entries, and the book was published nearly 12 months ago.  It's still available for sale, and the order form can be found here.

Society of Organists Victoria

New Organ Music Awards

Regulations

1. The Society of Organists Victoria is offering these awards to encourage composers, both students and established professionals, to consider the artistic possibilities of the organ as a medium for new music.
2. The Society proposes to select up to 12 works for publication in an anthology of new organ music by Australian composers.
3. The successful entrants will receive the following awards:
1. First prize (regardless of category, defined below): $1000.00
2. Second prize (regardless of category): $500.00
3. Six prizes of $250.00
4. The Council of the Society of Organists may vote to award four further prizes on the recommendation of the review panel
5. All successful entrants will receive an equal share in the royalties of the published anthology.
4. Entrants are invited to submit a work in one or both of the following categories:
1. Liturgical Piece
2. Free Composition
5. The Liturgical piece shall make use of pre-existing thematic material associated with current day worship in the Australian churches.  This piece may be in an established genre (e.g: chorale prelude, interlude) or the composer’s own conception, so long as it makes use of a pre-existing theme such as a hymn tune, Gregorian chant or other material used in public worship.  It should relate to the needs of liturgical worship, and be no longer than 5 minutes in duration.
1. This work must be composed within the following guidelines:

                                                              i.      Instrumental resources: two manuals and pedals; registrations may be specified.

                                                            ii.      Skill level: intermediate (AMEB grade 5 standard)

6. The Free Composition may take any single-movement form, and is not required to make use of pre-existing thematic material.  It should be at least 7-10 minutes in duration.
1. This work must be composed within the following guidelines:

                                                              i.      Instrumental resources: three or more manuals and pedals (but adaptable to two manuals and pedals)

                                                            ii.      Skill level: open, but this should be considered to be a work intended primarily for more advanced players.

7. General guidelines:
1. Entrants are encouraged to explore examples of idiomatic writing for the organ as demonstrated in the literature.  Entrants are strongly advised to undertake this study through recordings or live performances of identified or chosen works in conjunction with scores.
2. Entrants are very strongly advised to explore current manuals of organ construction and technique.  The following are highly recommended:

                                                              i.      Bush, Douglas E. (ed.). The organ: an encyclopedia. (New York : Routledge, 2005).

                                                            ii.      Davis, Roger E.  The organists' manual: technical studies and selected compositions for the organ.  (New York : W.W. Norton, c1985)

                                                          iii.      Dupré, Marcel. Cours complet d’Improvisation a L’Orgue.  (Paris: Leduc, 1962 [English tr.: 1973])

                                                          iv.      -----------------. Method for the Organ.  (Paris: Leduc, 1927)

                                                            v.      Hakim, Naji.  The Improvisation Companion.  (London: United Music Publishers, Ltd, 2000)

                                                          vi.      Hancock, Gerre.  Improvising: How to Master the Art.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994)

                                                        vii.      Hurford, Peter.  Making music on the organ.  (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988).

                                                      viii.      Wills, Arthur.  Organ.  (London : Macdonald, 1984)

8. Entrants are required to submit their scores with a cover sheet giving their name, title of the work, category in which it is being submitted, institutional affiliation (where relevant) and return mailing, email addresses and a daytime telephone number.  Adjudication will be by a process of double blind review.  The entrant’s name is not to appear in any form on any page of the submitted score.  Scores containing any information identifying the entrant will be automatically disqualified from entry.
1. Prior to publication, the Society reserves the right on behalf of the review committee to request amendments to works accepted for publication.
9. Copyright of published works remains with the composer.

Submissions must arrive postmarked not later than (DATE).  Entrants will be advised of results in the week beginning (DATE) 2008, and the accepted works will be performed during the Organ Festival in April 2008, with publication to follow later in 2008.

Submissions will only be received in hard copy.