Orpheus Academy Student Chamber Music Composition Contest

Number of entries: Composers may submit as many works as they like, with each accompanied by a separate application and entry fee.

Step 1: Study the composition guidelines. Please note that compositions which do not conform to these guidelines may be disqualified. For questions and/or clarification about the guidelines please email: compcontest@orpheusacademy.com
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​Step 2: Email compcontest@orpheusacademy.com with the following:

• Subject: “Composition Contest Entry”
• Include: 1) Title of work 2) Instrumentation
• Attach: A legible score of professional quality. Marks identifying the composer must not appear anywhere on the score.​

Compositions must be originally composed for this competition. Works that have previously been performed or published will not be considered.

Music can be intended to be performed with or without a conductor.

Instrumentation: Select any combination of the following instrumentation for 3-5 players: 1 Piano OR 1 Piano Four-Hands / 1-2 Violins / 1 Viola / 1 Cellos / 1-2 Guitars

Length: A suite of 3-5 movements. Each movement should be between 24 to 48 bars, and the entire suite should be at least 200 measures long.

Rhythm: Meters: ¾, 4/4, 6/8; no fast lines or repeated notes for more than four beats; single instances of syncopation (no part should play off the beat for more than 2 beats); sixteenth patterns of 4 sixteenth notes or eighth followed by two sixteenth notes may be used for up to 2 beats at a time.

Tempo: Not more than one moderately fast movement. Slow to medium for other movements.

Style: All styles welcome! Compositions may be completely atonal, folk-song-like, aleatoric, jazz, classical, pop, minimalist, or any other style that the composer believes will be interesting to young children so long as it forms a coherent set.

Additional Compositional Resources: Players may be asked to do simple vocalizations and employ simple percussion on their instrument, a wood block, or a similar, easily acquired percussion instrument.

Measuring Difficulty: These pieces are intended to be easily learned by young children with 3-4 years of experience. In addition to the restrictions for each instrument below, please bear in mind that difficulty is cumulative – that is, one challenge might be manageable, but multiple difficulties (shifting during syncopation, multiple difficult passages in each part in a single phrase, etc.) increase the difficulty exponentially for children. Please use common sense in creating a work that will be exciting and easily learned.

• Three note chords within a 6th with a maximum of one black key per hand.
• Scales up to 4#’s may be played slowly.
• Simple cross hand arpeggios beginning on a natural note.
• Melody with half note accompaniment.
• Parallel thirds legato in one hand.
• Simple mixed articulations.
• Legato pedaling on long notes.
• Glissandi OKAY.

Things to Avoid

• Quick pedal changes.
• Quick chord changes.
• Quick position changes.
• Consecutive position changes of more than a step.
• Fast repeated notes.

• 1st through 7th position.
• Extended techniques such as Bartok pizz., plucking strings above the nut, golpe (drumming) and tambour
• Moving a fingering shape to different parts of the fretboard.
• Chords with a maximum of three fingers held.
• Arpeggios of above chords at slow speeds.
• Glissandi on a single string
• 12th-fret Harmonics

Things to Avoid

• Large stretches between fingers. Stretches when more than 2 fingers are in use.
• Changing more than 2 fingers in a chord quickly.
• More than 2 positions per movement..
• Flat keys.
• Legato scale passages.
• Bars
• Fast stepwise movement of more than 3 notes.

• All first position notes
• 3rd  position on the 1st and 2nd string.
• Keys with up to 3 sharps or 2 flats (major and minor).
• Martele & Detache. (bow stroke, detache = legato, martele = portato)
• Slow long bows are okay (up to 4 to 5 seconds long.)
• Pizz.
• Glissandi on a single string

Things to Avoid

• Bows over 6 seconds
• Slurs over 4 notes or that involve a string crossing.
• If switching from Pizz to Arco, or vice versa, add rests between these articulation markings to prevent disrupting tempo and sound quality.
• Non-neighboring String crossings: for example, from E string to G string.
• String crossing at the tip of the bow (don’t string cross after a long note).
• Double stops with more than two strings at the time. Avoid double stops with 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 8ves, or diminished chords. (Do not change quickly to another double stop. Allow for plenty of time for tuning/adjustment purposes.)​

• 2nd and 3rd positions, (allow plenty of time to shift between the positions).
• May extend up with the 4th finger to expand the position by a half step (for example: E, F# and G# on first position.)
• Pizz.
• Glissandi on a single string
• Slow long bows are okay (up to 4 to 5 seconds long).

Things to Avoid

• Bows over 6 seconds.
• More than 2 positions per piece.
• Slurs over 4 notes or that involve more than one string crossing.
• Non-neighboring string crossings. For example, from A string to C string.
• Double stops with more than two strings at the time. Avoid double stops with 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 8ves, or diminished intervals. (Do not change quickly to another double stop. Allow for plenty of time for tuning/adjustment purposes.)