[Ansteorra] Music Competition MK-II

[Jeffrey Clark]

I attempted to host a music competition within Ansteorra over the past few
months, however circumstances seemed to have conspired against it and I was
left
with a single entry. Several people have approached me and asked me to
re-host
the competition now that the Christmas feast has passed.

I will also make a redoubled effort to give classes and lectures in the DFW
area
on period music, now that my time is not being taken up with holiday
concerts
and so on.


The particulars of the competition are as follows:

1. Entries must be composed with an effort towards emulating a period style

2. There are no restrictions on instrumentation, and entries may either be
instrumental or vocal (or a combination thereof), and may contain as many as
8
parts

3. Entries may be submitted by email or through snailmail. There is no
requirement that they be put in period notation (though I do read most forms
of
period notation)

4. Entires can be handwritten, or may be produced digitally; if produced
digitally they must be submitted in a non-proprietary format (.pdf .png .bmp
.gif and midi files are all acceptable). The only exception to this rule is
.sib
files (as I have the program). I love you all, but I can't judge something I
can't open on my computer!

5. Documentation is not required; however, giving me something that
documents
your sources, inspiration, and creative process will help me provide better
feedback

6. I will accept multiple entries from a particular person; however only one
must be designated as an actual "competitive" entry. All others will receive
my
attention and I will provide feedback on them.

7. The deadline for all entries is April 1st.

8. Judging will be announced on the Ansteorra list sometime in April
(depending
on exactly how many entries I receive), this competition is not tied to any
event, and will be entirely conducted online.


Now, for the good part:

1. After the deadline I will review all entires; I am a musicologist and am
formally trained in historical performance practice. I promise that I will
give
detailed feedback on all entires, and will do all I can to make my feedback
as
practical and useful as I can.

2. I will pick what I consider to be the three best entires (judged on a
holistic
concept of period sound, the composer's adventurousness withing the period
aesthetic, and the general musicality of the work) as the "finalists" of the
competition. I will record these three entires (I am a
professional--conservatory trained--recorder player, and have also been
trained
as a countertenor), put them on a CD and send a copy of the CD to the
finalists.
I will also engrave the music in Sibelius and send copies of the music along
with the CD (multipart works are not a problem, I have all the equipment I
need
to record the parts track by track and then combine them).

3. With permission, I would like to make the recordings of the music
available
publicly (via youtube or some other means); nothing will be announced,
commented
on, or displayed without the composer's permission

4. If I am able to keep the competition running through several iterations,
I
would like to compile a book of submitted compositions and publish it within
the
society.


My main goal for this competition is to further music within the kingdom and
provide aspiring musicians with a level of feedback and an arena in which to
experiment and to express their art in a way that is generally unavailable
in
regular A&S competitions.

I would like to encourage those who have never tired creating a period
composition, or who have never tried composing before to submit something.
Composers of every skill and style are welcome, I will not turn down any
serious
entry; and anything I sent to me will receive feedback.


Along with this competition, I will attempt to teach classes weekly (or as
close
to weekly) in Steppes and Elfsea on period composition, period musicianship,
along with a random smattering of general trivia about period music in
general.
I will announce the classes once times and dates for them are set. As things
get
going, I may choose to start theming the competitions a little.


I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!

In service,
Alessandro Zorzi