Composition Competition

  • Composers must not have reached their 30th birthday on May 7, 2023.

  • Composers must be legal residents or full-time students in New York State

  • Composers may submit only one work each

  • Members of STSC or its Board, and their immediate family members are not eligible.

Eligibility

  • Entries must be for a cappella chorus (SATB, up to SSAATTBB divisi available)

  • Entries should be challenging and gratifying for advanced amateur choirs (see STSC website for recent repertoire), and well-suited to a performance venue with a reverberant acoustic

  • Entries should be 3 to 5 minutes in length

  • Scores must be formatted for 8.5”x11” (letter-size) printing 

  • Scores must be accompanied by an audio recording exported from the music notation app, a MIDI recording, or some kind of demo recording

  • Entries may not have previously been performed publically or recorded

  • Texts must be in the public domain, or permission for their use must be obtained in writing from the copyright holder.

Entries

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 1, 2023

Submit your entry using our Google Form.

To upload the score in PDF format, with the composer's name and any other identifying information removed (entries will be judged anonymously). Through the form you will also be asked to provide affirmation that:

  • you will be under 30 years of age on May 7, 2023

  • you are a New York State resident or a full-time student in NY State

  • any text used is in the public domain

    • OR a copy of the copyright-holder's written permission has been attained

    • OR a statement that the text was authored by the composer

  • a 100-word biography (for use in program and publicity materials)

  • a headshot-type photo (JPEG format) in color or black-and-white suitable for reproduction (for use in program and publicity materials).

Submission

  • Submissions will be judged by a panel of STSC members and the Artistic Director. The panel's decisions will be final.

  • All submissions will remain the intellectual property of their composers and authors.

  • One and only one piece will be selected as the winner

Judging

  • $500 Prize Money

  • The winning piece will be premiered by STSC in a concert on May 7, 2023, to be professionally recorded. The winning piece may not be publicly performed by any other performers prior to that date without permission from STSC. The composer of the winning piece must grant permission to use any recordings made of the piece for promotional purposes. In addition to the prize money, STSC will reimburse the winning composer up to $250 in travel expenses to attend the concert.

Prize