A4 launch 2020 Composition Competition
A4 Brass Quartet have announced the launch of their 3rd annual composition competition. Following a hectic year that included a trip to Finland and concerts spanning the length of the UK from Scotland to Cornwall, the ensemble is now looking ahead to 2020. Next year’s season will feature two trips to Switzerland and concerts at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and St John Smith’s Square in London in addition to a variety of other UK venues.
Last year’s competition attracted a large number of entrants from around the globe, with Cardiff based composer Andy Wareham taking first prize with his lunar-inspired composition ‘The Code’, becoming the 2nd product of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama to win this competition following Daniel Hall in 2018. Paul Saggers’ composition ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ was awarded the runners up prize whilst 10-year old Junior Guildhall student Torin Christopherson claimed the award for the best Under-24 entrant.
For the 2020 competition, A4 Brass is looking for a concert work inspired by the city, culture, and/or heritage of Manchester, the quartet’s spiritual home. Works for either acoustic brass quartet or works incorporating backing tracks and/or audio electronics will be accepted. The quartet is pleased to be able to offer a healthy £650 prize fund, and also aims to encourage a new generation of student composers with a special Under 24 award (if both 1st and 2nd prize fall into this category, the next highest U24 entry will receive this award). The winer will receive £400, with a runner-up prize of £150 and a further £100 for the Under 24 prize winner.
The brief for the compositions is deliberately free to encourage creativity, but the following guidelines must be followed: Compositions must be of 4-8 minutes in duration and have never been performed before. The instrumentation is fixed as Bb Cornet (doubling Flugel), Tenor Horn in Eb, Baritone Horn in Bb (treble clef) and Euphonium in Bb (treble clef), although mutes are available if required for all instruments.It is not necessary to submit scores anonymously, however entrants should please consider score/part presentation, practicality and suitability for concert performance and submissions must contain a score and parts.
Scores can be submitted as either a Sibelius 7 (or earlier) file or as PDF files accompanied by an mp3/m4a file, and need to be emailed to a4brassquartet@hotmail.co.uk with ‘A4 COMPOSITION COMPETITION’ in the subject line.
The closing date for entries is FRIDAY 10th APRIL 2020, with finalists and subsequent award winners being announced before the summer holiday.
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