Call for scores: Composition Award competition in the UK

The call is in collaboration with Manchester International Festival, Manchester Camerata, specialist music school Lilla Akademien and the Danish National Youth Ensemble. The winning work will be premiered in the UK, Sweden and Denmark during the 2021-22 season.

The theme of the 2021O/Modernt Composition Award is Nature and the City.

Competition details

• Instrumentation: String orchestra with optional percussion.
• Length: 8–10 minutes.
• Deadline: 1 April 2021.
• Prize: €3 000 ($3 700) in prize money (prize money can be split according to the jury’s discretion). Terms

To enter, email a PDF of the score and a sound file of the composition to [email protected] along with:

• Applicant details: Name, date of birth, nationality, country of residence, email address, telephone number and short biography.
• Work details: Title, length and short description of the ‘idea’ behind the work.

O/Modernt embraces the world of contemporary music, collaborating with composers at different stages in their careers from all over the world. In total, O/Modernt has commissioned more than 40 works over the past decade, ranging from short solo works to fully fledged cantatas and symphonic music.

“We are excited to hear how today’s composers open new musical pathways into a topic that is so central to contemporary human experience,” O/Modernt said. “Since the dawn of modernism the city has provided music, art and literature with perhaps its most enduring motif.

“Building on that tradition, the theme for this year’s award is the tension between nature and the city, and the evolving relationship between technology and the natural world. Nostalgic reflections, a call to arms, a celebration or a lyrical lament: the theme can be freely shaped according to the composer’s own vision.”

View the original call here.