NOW OPEN: 44TH ANNUAL CHORAL COMPOSITION CONTEST
Encouraging the creation of new choral music for over four decades, the 44th Annual Ithaca College Choral Composition Contest is now accepting entries. Compositions should be suitable for high school Mixed Choral Ensembles (SATB – some divisi acceptable). Three to five minutes performance length is appropriate. Entries must be received by February 26, 2024.
The Robert Campbell ’40, M.S. ’50, Endowed Choral Composition Prize will be awarded to the first-place winner in the annual Choral Composition Festival. Winners of first and second place will be awarded the following cash prizes:
FIRST PLACE - $1,200 | SECOND PLACE - $700
Finalists of the 44th Annual Choral Composition Contest will be announced March 7, 2024.
The Ithaca College Choral Composition Festival will be held Saturday, April 20, 2024 at Ithaca College. Finalist composers have the opportunity to work with choirs performing their compositions.
Presented by the Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in partnership with Mark Foster Publishing (a division of Hal Leonard), this competition is open to all composers except for Ithaca College faculty, staff, and students and anyone who has been awarded First Place in this Choral Composition Contest within the last five years.
COMPOSITIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 26, 2024.
SUBMISSION AND RETURN GUIDELINES
Entry Fee of $25 (U.S. Dollars) per score. Make checks payable to Ithaca College.
Send to:
IC Choirs
Ithaca College
953 Danby Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
- Electronic submissions: Manuscripts may be submitted via email to ic-choirs@ithaca.edu (checks must still be mailed using the above address)
- Name must not appear on the score.
- Snail Mail: If you are mailing a hard copy, include your name, address, phone number, and email in a sealed envelope.
- Name must not appear on the score.
- No scores will be returned
A panel of judges selects a certain number of submissions to be included in the festival, which includes the performance of these works by select high school choruses, and the selection of a first and second composition prize winner. In addition to these performances, the festival features the premiere of a choral work commissioned for performance by the Ithaca College Choir. Listed below are previously commissioned composers.
The Ithaca College Choral Department is proud to announce our two winners of the 2022-23 Choral Composition Contest:
First Prize
" Compré pocas copas" by Nate Finke
Second Prize
"Freedom" by Isaac Lovdahl
Congratulations!
PREVIOUSLY COMMISSIONED WORKS
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1979: Vincent Persichetti, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis
1980: Samuel Adler, Two Shelley Songs
1981: Karel Husa, Every Day
1982: William Schuman, Esses
1983: Dan Locklair, Break Away
1984: Eugene Butler, Eternity and Time
1985: Iain Hamilton, The Convergence
1986: Ellen Taafe Zwilic, Thanksgiving Song
1987: Richard Wernick, The Eleventh Commandment
1988: Peter Schickele, Songs I Taught My Mother
1989: Thomas Pasatieri, Three Mysteries for Chorus
1990: Norman Dello Joio, The Quest
1991: Augusta R. Thomas, Sanctus
1992: Norman Dello Joio, Songs of Memory*
1993: Ronald Caltabian, Metaphor
1994: Thea Musgrave, On The Underground
1995, Daniel Pinkham: Passion Music
1996: Daniel Asia, purer than purest pure
1997: Chen Yi, Spring Dreams
1998: Robert Maggio, Aristotle
1999: Lowell Lieberman, Three Elizabethan Songs
2000: George Tsontakis, Ithaka
2001: Chen Yi, Xuan
2002: Anthony Iannaccone, The Soul’s Expression
2003: Daniel Dorff, The Colors of Creation
2004: Dan Welcher, Leaves of Grass
2005: Ron Nelson, Let us find a meadow
2006: Dana Wilson, Love’s Phases
2007: Gary Schocker, Confederate Soldier’s Prayer
2008: Behzad Ranjbaran, We are one
2009: Steven Stucky, Gravity’s Dream
2010: René Clausen, At Dusk
2011: Carol Barnett, Bega
2012: Paul Carey, …to balance myself upon a broken world
2013: Dominick DiOrio, The Journey To Ithaca
2014: Tawnie Olson, Spring and Fall
2015: Dale Trumbore, All We Need
2016: Francisco Núñez, The Voice You Hear
2017: Timothy C. Takach, Annabel
2018: Shawn Crouch, As They Draw to a Close
2019: Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, The World, This Wall, and Me
2023: Christopher Harris, Oh My Son, Absalom
* Centennial Commission