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Hi All, I haven't posted here in quite some time but am now a high school string orchestra teacher. I teach at a high school that I would say has an intermediate level orchestra for this age group and a select ensemble that plays quite well. I would like to open a composition contest for my group. Depending on difficulty it will either be performed by my senior high or select group. The winning composition will be written at an appropriate level, be musically interesting, and be neatly written. It is my first year at the school and it is early so I am still feeling them out but they have a lot of potential and sound great on certain things now. I would say they are capable of performing grade 4 works well at this time. Students are or close to comfortable playing in at least 3rd position on their instruments. Some are capable of more but if heavy shifting is involved it will likely not be feasible. Feel free to ask any questions. Rhythmically, the piece can feature mixed meter and the like but please avoid being disjunct in extremes. Please avoid overly complex bass parts. I CAN give feedback to in progress pieces. Because This will not be performed until the spring concert, I have decided to extend the deadline until December 1, 2012. I reserve to the right to pick no winner if I feel no piece fits the guidelines. more advice/guidelines down the page! Again, for submission, you must include: PDF of score Midi demo or recording of piece. Ability to make clean parts if you win.

Sounds interesting. I have a few questions: How long should the work be? Are you expecting a single-movement work or can it have multiple movements? What's exactly the string orchestra's size? Do you have any particular musical style in mind when asking for it to be "musically interesting"? Thanks a lot!