2025 Halloween: Results and Winners!

Thanks to all 16 participants who submitted music to the competition - the recipients of the "2025 Halloween Participant" Award: 

Fumage - Trio for Flute, Oboe, and Bassoon (Halloween Competition Submission) by @Justin Gruber
CLOWNS - Fall 2025 Halloween Competition Submission by @sebastian Pafundo
Woodwind Quintet No. 1 - Halloween Competition Submission by @Maxthemusicenthusiast
Trio Variations in D minor: A Submission to the 2025 Halloween Composition Competition by @TristanTheTristan
Aos Si - Piano Quintet for Halloween by @HoYin Cheung
YCF Composition Competition - Halloween 2025 (Submission) by @UncleRed99
YC Halloween Contest Entry - The Mist by @Kvothe
Bagatelle No.6 | Om. 101 by @Omicronrg9
2025 Halloween Competition - DANCE FROM THE SKELETON BALL (Submission) by @MK_Piano
From Above, Now Below by @Thatguy v2.0
A Hollow Theme for Halloween (Fall 2025 Competition) by @therealAJGS
Piano Quintet in G sharp minor - 2025 Halloween Competition Submission by @Wieland Handke
American Cryptids - Fall 2025 Halloween Submission by @Micah
Dima’s National Dance - 2025 Halloween Submission by @Dima
Daunting Steps - Quintet for Piano, Flute, Contrabassoon, Violin and Cello - 2025 Halloween Submission by @ferrum.wav
Diptych for Piano Quartet (Submission) by @Cosmia

The members have voted!  --<< Decisive Fanfare >>-- And the winners are:

For winning the "2025 Halloween Spookiest Piece" award with 9 votes - "From Above, Now Below" by @Thatguy v2.0 will receive the following badge: 

For winning the "2025 Halloween Strangest Piece" award with 8 votes - "Aos Si" by @HoYin Cheung will receive the following badge: 

For winning the "2025 Halloween Biggest Thriller" award there is a tie with 5 votes each! - "From Above, Now Below" by @Thatguy v2.0 and "Diptych for Piano Quartet" by @Cosmia will receive the following badge: 

For winning the "2025 Halloween Theme Winner" award with 7 votes - "From Above, Now Below" by @Thatguy v2.0 will receive the following badge: 

Congratulations to all the winners!  We will now move your pieces into the "Competition Hall of Fame" subforum!

And thanks to all the following participants who also reviewed all the entries!  The contest would not have been as much fun and as instructional as it was without you!  The following members will receive the "Ardent Reviewer" badge () for their efforts in meticulously reviewing all the entries:

@TristanTheTristan, @Kvothe, @Omicronrg9, @Thatguy v2.0, @therealAJGS, @Wieland Handke, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, @chopin and myself @PeterthePapercomPoser

And thanks to me @PeterthePapercomPoser for organizing and managing all the competition polls, announcements, submission thread, badges, results, satisfaction survey and advertising outreach!  I will receive the "2025 Halloween Community Organizer" badge: 

To take the 2025 Halloween Satisfaction Survey go here:

To listen to all the entries go to the submissions thread:

To check out the popular voting polls go here:

And for the competition announcement go here:

Competition?  Like the Rock band Boston; almost a one-man band?  People living in competition?  Peace of Mind.  Write your music, be Tao.  No need for competition.  Composition; well, you have to do something...

True words are not fine-sounding,

Fine-sounding words are not true.

The good man does not prove by argument; 

He who proves by argument is not good.

True wisdom is different than much learning;

Much learning means little wisdom!

Lo, the Sage has no need to hoard:

When he has given up his last scrap for the benefit of others,

He has more than he had before!

When he has sacrificed all he has for the help of others, 

His hoard is that much better than before!

For Nature's way is to sharpen without cutting, 

And the Sage's way is to act without striving.

I am not into competitions! 🤣

Pardon my mangled Tao Te Ching-83.

4 hours ago, Churchcantor said:

Pardon my mangled Tao Te Ching-83

lol where do you quote this from? Tao Te Ching has only 81 stanzas…

4 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

lol where do you quote this from? Tao Te Ching has only 81 stanzas…

 

The Way and Its Power - Dao De Jing II. 81.

Here is where I was taking off from.  I have known this verse for decades, and love it!

4 hours ago, Churchcantor said:

Competition?  Like the Rock band Boston; almost a one-man band?  People living in competition?  Peace of Mind.  Write your music, be Tao.  No need for competition.  Composition; well, you have to do something...

LoL I have to say, you misunderstand Laozi for the original stanza. Our competition in a way matches what Laozi said because Laozi just said you can do your things but without fierce competition, which is the same here, that’s exactly what “為而不爭 “【Act without striving】means. 

For my self advertisement if you love Tao you can check out my String Sextet. I think the music reflects some aspects of it haha!

Well, Henry, I'm not Chinese!  I still like the verse, no matter what its provenance is.