Film Music Competition

---- NO MORE COMPETITORS ARE ALLOWED ----

One of our members, Thomas, has posted regarding a competition he has arranged with an orchestra. It is a rather small, amateur orchestra, and the deadline is restrictive, but it is a good opportunity for composers to actually write for real players.

COMPETITORS: 1. Nickthoven, 2. Invisionary, 3. Chris Shaver, 4. Nightengale Incorporated, 5. Saiming, 6. Eselbeus, 7. Keith Novak, 8. Tumababa, 9. Compclar, 10. johannhowitzer

ENTRIES SUBMITTED: 1. Invisionary, 2. Saiming, 3. Eselbeus, 4. johannhowitzer, 5. Chris Shaver, 6. Compclar, 7. Nickthoven, 8. Tumababa

So it's like this: Composers (you guys) will write a piece of music, Thomas will select the five he thinks are best suited to the orchestra (taking into account its ability to perform the piece, texture, orchestration etc.), which will be put before the conductor of the orchestra, who will then pick one to be performed. (The deadline to sign up for this competition is June 16th, 2006.) The deadline for compositions is JULY 14TH, 2006. Yes, this is an incredible crunch for orchestral competitions, but if you don't have much to do during this stretch of summer, try to participate.

Pieces must be written for the orchestra listed below, and in a Film Music style, as indicated by the orchestra. SUGGESTIONS: Think of a scene in a movie, either existing or of your own creation. Put yourself in that scene, and write what you hear coming out of that scene. It may be hard at first, coming up with ideas that are cohesive as a whole, and that still have to do with the scene in question, but it is a matter of discipline. Try to steer away from abstract randomness, as real film composers always pre-plan themes and overall sounds for scenes. The piece is required to be 4-10 minutes long, so multiple scenes may be written for, but try to keep it all cohesive and understandable from a listening perspective. Some scene suggestions: An evil emperor marches his troops through his land, which is dark and desolate. / It is night, and the main characters are infiltrating the evil corporation's base of operations. / The character is a loner, driving through a desolate wasteland, not knowing what or who he will encounter. Existing themes can be used as well, as long as the music produced is still original.

The orchestra is somewhat limited:

4 Flute players (preferably only 2 parts)
3 Clarinet in Bb players (preferably only 2 parts) (strong players)
2 Alto Saxophones
2Trumpets
Piano
I and II Violins (not very strong)
Violas (not very strong)
Cellos (strong players)
Basses
Timpani (2 drums, no pedals, so only two notes, usually C and G, or D and A)
Percussion, one player

This ensemble must NOT be changed.

The orchestra is about a good high school level, so please nothing extremely complex, like crazy key signatures or accidentals or rhythms.

Pieces must end up in both notation file and audio files (either .mus, .sib, .pdf, and either MIDI or mp3). They should be e-mailed to Thomas at tad1989@gmail.com. If your piece wins the competition, make sure you are able to produce parts and a readable full score, in PDF format, and sent to Thomas. But don't worry about parts if you haven't yet won.

The winner will have their composition premiered by the said orchestra in September 2006. It will be recorded.

If there are any questions, please e-mail Thomas at tad1989@gmail.com, NOT Nickthoven.

PLEASE POST IN THIS THREAD TO SIGN-UP FOR THIS COMPETITION, AS IT IS PART A YOUNGCOMPOSERS COMPETITION, AS WELL AS A COMPETITION FOR THE ORCHESTRA. DETAILS AS THEY COME WILL BE POSTED IN THIS THREAD.

THE DEADLINES: ---- JULY 14th TO SEND IN COMPOSITIONS ----

The deadlines are final.

No YC-based judges are necessary.

OOO, PICK ME!

Added, Jeremiah.

I've also edited Nickthoven's original post to make it clear that no YC judges are required for this competition. Thomas himself will judge the pieces.

Ah, why not. I'll give it a try. Sign me up.

Jeremy

If I have time I'll shoot for it.

I'll take a stab at it.

I already said definately in the other thing but my name wasn't transferred over so here I go again: count me in!

I have a small question. By "not strong players" are they not able to deal with higher registers (or say for the violins and violas anything past 3rd position.) or are you saying that they aren't very loud due to a small size in the orchestra?

hi Calehay,

The violins can be heard (there'll be around 7 firsts and 4 seconds) - they can go up past third position but I'd limit range to around the G above the e-string. As regards 'weak' players, just no funny scales or whatever.

The orchestra is about a good high school level, so please nothing extremely complex, like crazy key signatures or accidentals or rhythms.

Weird rhythms I think we can allow. We've played in 11/16 before so don't be afraid! Just make it catchy.

P.S. Thanks Nick for putting this in here!

Add Me.

Can't pass up this.

I'll just have to make time.