Welcome Christmas Carol Contest

Program Description:

Download complete guidelines and application form here.

The custom of singing Christmas carols brings joy to the holiday season unlike any other tradition.  And every December VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum celebrate this tradition in their own unique way: championing today’s composers, exploring new works, and rediscovering lesser-known works of the past.

This year marks the sixteenth year of the Welcome Christmas Carol Contest as VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum provide composers with the opportunity to compose a modern-day carol; this year for SATB chorus and piano.

The two winners will each receive a prize of $1,000, and the winning carols will be premiered at the December 7, 8, 13,14 and 15, 2013 Welcome Christmas concerts featuring the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers with pianist Dan Chouinard.  The performances will be recorded for national broadcast in 2014 via American Public Media.  The winners are invited to attend the rehearsals and performances at their own expense, and will have the opportunity for radio interviews as well as other media coverage and promotion. For concert information, visit VocalEssence at www.vocalessence.org. 

2013 Contest Guidelines

• World premiere: No prior performance of submitted work.
• Eligibility: Composers of all ages whose permanent residence is North America.
• Form: Carol (defined as a strophic song, which may or may not have refrains, that is associated with Christmas)
• Voicing: SATB with piano.
• Duration: Maximum of 3 minutes.
• Text: Sacred or secular, medieval to present, appropriate for concert setting; Christmas or seasonal winter themes accepted.  Proof of public domain or author’s written permission for use of text is required.

Who may apply

• Composers of all ages; experience writing for voice and/or choirs is beneficial.
• Applicants do not need to be members of ACF to apply.  However, if selected, the composer is expected to be a member for a one-year period.  (For membership information visit www.composersforum.org/get-involved/join-renew or call Jay Walters at 651/251-2810).

Submission Requirements

• Signed and completed application form
• One full score including duration
• One copy of piano part
• A biography not to exceed one page
• Program notes not to exceed one page (optional)
• Document giving permission or status for use of text
• Optional: If you would like your materials returned, please enclose a check (payable to American Composers Forum) in the amount of $5.00 to cover return postage.  Please do not include stamps or SASEs.
• Please DO NOT SEND RECORDINGS.

Deadline

• Postmarked on or before August 2, 2013.
• Faxes will not be accepted.

Selection Process

Applications and scores will be screened for completeness by ACF staff.  Final selection and programming decisions will be made by VocalEssence Artistic Director Philip Brunelle and Associate Conductor Sigrid Johnson.  Note: American Composers Forum and VocalEssence reserve the right not to make an award.

Notification

Composers will be notified by early October 2013.

VocalEssence

Under the artistic direction of founder Philip Brunelle, VocalEssence is a champion of choral music: performing past and present repertoire for voices, commissioning new works from today’s composers, and celebrating the human experience through concerts and community engagement.  VocalEssence has been recognized by ASCAP with five awards for its adventurous programming of contemporary music and has been honored with the Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence.  The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers are the 32-voice professional chorus of VocalEssence and the core of its 125-voice Chorus.

Past Winners:

2012: Carols with flute accompaniment: David Biedenbender (Ann Arbor, MI), Sheena Phillips (Trenton, NJ)

2011: Carols with English horn accompaniment: James Kallembach (Chicago, IL), Robert Sieving (Minnetonka, MN)

2010: Carols with handbell accompaniment: J. David Moore (St. Paul, MN), Mark Shepperd (Woodbury, MN)

2009: Carols with viola accompaniment: Michael J. Glasgow (Raleigh, NC), Robert Sieving (Minnetonka, MN)

2008: Carols with French horn accompaniment: Scott Ethier (Astoria, NY), Peter Hilliard (Roslyn, PA)

2007: Carols with celesta accompaniment: Matthew Brown (Los Angeles, CA), Stephen Main (San Francisco, CA)

2006: Carols with solo acoustic guitar: Diego Luzuriaga (Ardmore, Pa.), John Rommereim (Grinnell, Iowa)

2005: Carols with solo cello: Paul Gibson (Downey, Calif.), Jocelyn Hagen (Minneapolis, Minn.)

2004: Carols with solo recorder: Keith Bradshaw (Lexington, Va.), James Sclater (Clinton, Miss.)

2003: Carols with solo instrumental accompaniment: Thomas Fielding (Bloomington, Ind.), Alan Higbee (Beechwood, Ohio) Read and listen to the National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday coverage of the 2003 Carol Contest.

2002: Carols with percussion accompaniment: Mary Lynn Place Badarak, Paul Lohman

2001: Carols with string orchestra accompaniment: Clive Muncaster, Sergey Khvoshchinsky

2000: Carols with harp accompaniment: Brian Holmes, Emily Maxson Porter

1999: Carols with audience participation: Robert A.M. Ross, Jonathan Santore

1998: Carols for a cappella chorus: Joan Griffith, Richard Voorhaar

For more information contact: