new orchestral repertoire project

THE MINNEAPOLIS POPS ORCHESTRA

The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra is a professional 45-member orchestra which performs summer concerts, primarily at the scenic Lake Harriet Bandshell near downtown Minneapolis. The Orchestra performs a wide variety of repertoire, from classics of the symphonic repertoire to Broadway musicals and arrangements of jazz standards. Members of the large audience (usually 2,000-3,000) have diverse income, age, musical sophistication, and educational levels.  The Orchestra has a long-standing commitment to performing new music which is accessible to this diverse audience.

ELIGIBILITY AND APPROPRIATE SUBMISSIONS

Composers must be at least 21 years old, and may not be undergraduate students. Submitted compositions must have been performed by at least one orchestra on a concert, not only on a reading session. Only one work per composer may be submitted. Compositions which will be performed after the submission deadline date, but before June 15, 2011, are eligible.

Instrumentation may be a maximum of: standard string section; 2 each woodwinds (possible doubles include piccolo, English horn, and bass and/or Eb clarinet); 4/3/3/1 brass; two percussionists. The Orchestra’s percussionists are skilled at consolidating percussion parts, so works written for more than two percussionists will be considered if the parts reasonably can be consolidated. Composers may submit pieces with larger woodwind sections, but must agree to consolidate the additional parts into parts playable with 2 each woodwinds if their piece is the winning composition. PIECES THAT REQUIRE HARP, PIANO, OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS NOT SPECIFIED ABOVE, OR WITH CHORUS OR VOCAL SOLOIST(S) ARE NOT ELIGIBLE.

Appropriate genres: The competition is intended to identify worthy new works which are as yet relatively unknown; therefore, well-known compositions which have already received a large number of performances from many orchestras are not eligible. Medleys from musical theatre are not eligilble, but a well-crafted concert overture from a musical or opera is acceptable. Winning works probably will not be “pops” works per se, but should be works suitable for performance on a standard orchestral concert.

Attendance at concert: The winning composer agrees to be present at the rehearsal and concert on July  30, 2011, and agrees to submit biographical material appropriate for grant proposals.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION

Materials  for submission must be postmarked by May 15, 2011.

One copy of a full orchestral score, computer-printed or of professional quality if hand-copied, should be submitted using a pseudonym. The composer’s real name must not appear on the score in any location, including copyright notice. A sealed envelope must be attached to the score with the pseudonym clearly marked on the outside, and the composer’s pseudonym, real name, address, telephone number, and email address must be clearly printed on one sheet inside the envelope. The outer mailing envelope must use the pseudonym for the return address. Return addresses must be printed legibly.

One page detailing performance history must be enclosed. The performance history page should list the number but not the name of orchestras which have performed this work, from applicable categories as follows: 1) full-time professional orchestra; 2) other professional orchestra; 3) semi-professional or community orchestra; 4) college orchestra; 5) youth, honor, or summer camp orchestra; 6) high school orchestra. The number of performances in each category should be listed. If the composition has not yet been performed, but will be performed before June 15, 2011, the category and date of premiere should be listed. The winner of the competition agrees to re-submit this page after the competition, with the names of the performing orchestras listed.

All entries must include a CD of a performance or, if no performance recording is available, a CD of a synthesized recording of the orchestral version. A recording of a piano reduction is acceptable. Track 1 of the CD should be a short excerpt of the most distinctive section of the piece (up to 2 minutes in length), unless the composer feels that the opening of the piece will best serve this purpose. The complete piece must follow as Track 2. If Track 1 is an excerpt, the CD must indicate which measure is the beginning of the excerpt.

To ensure anonymity of the composer, the processing fee of $10 must be enclosed, sealed in an envelope marked “processing fee.” Judges will not know the identity of any composer who enters except that of the winner, at the conclusion of the judging process.

Materials can be returned only if the composer encloses a stamped,  appropriately-sized mailing envelope, using the composer’s pseudonym rather than the real name on the address section of the envelope.

JUDGES

The competition will be judged by the Orchestra’s Music Director, Jere Lantz, and members of the Orchestra who form the Artistic Advisory Committee. Judges reserve the right to award no prizes.

Mail submissions to:
Shelley Hanson
New Orchestral Repertoire Project
Box 16201
Minneapolis, MN 55416