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GEORGE HEUSSENSTAMM COMPOSITION CONTEST
music: I knew I wanted to write a secular requiem for close to a decade, long before I’d met CAI’s conductor, and before CAI even existed. For years, I also dreamed of making a first album of my choral works, but when I imagined those two distinct goals, I never could have guessed that they’d overlap.
If I’d written a secular requiem for a different chorus, maybe it would have been simpler. Maybe there would have been less divisi and fewer movements; maybe it would have set different texts. Maybe my secular requiem would have been written, as I’d initially imagined it, as an concert-length work for chorus and orchestra. With another collaborator, I could have fulfilled the same dream with an entirely different piece.
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But now, going back through the margins of The Artist’s Way yet again, I place a check mark or write “How to Go On” wherever I’ve mentioned wanting to record an album of my choral works or compose a secular requiem. Those two dream projects have been realized in a uniquely wonderful reality; I can no longer imagine wanting them to exist any other way.
And now, I set new goals. I imagine future albums, and while I have a loose concept for what each will hold, the ensembles recording those albums are undefined. When I find the right collaborators, they will inevitably shape these recordings. I imagine writing a piece for chorus and orchestra within the next year or so; the dream and intent are perfectly clear, but here, too, that new piece will depend on which ensemble commissions it. I’ll continue to hone my vision for these projects until I find the right collaborators for each particular dream, and then I’ll open them up to reality. At least in my universe, that’s the way that dream projects come true. Originally published on daletrumbore.com, January 2018.
The CCDA/George Heussenstamm Choral Composition Competition at ECCO now moves into its sixth year! Last year’s winner was Greg Lapp, with his beautiful Three Songs from “Twelfth Night” for mixed a cappella choir. Winning composers are invited to attend ECCO for free! Last year, Mr. Lapp presented his work at our virtual Choral Summit, with George Heussenstamm in attendance. Please visit www.GeorgeHeussenstamm.com to learn more about our talented and generous benefactor.
• CCDA members are invited to submit a single, original composition. We are looking for single, stand-alone compositions, not sets and not arrangements. Shorter works (3-5 minutes) are preferred. Previous winners are not eligible to apply. • Please submit your anonymous, unpublished score, a cappella or with piano accompaniment (no obbligato instruments), any voicing, along with an anonymous demo recording (MIDI is acceptable, but voices are preferred if possible) to davypavy@aol.com. Please use the link on the CCDA website to enter all composition and composer information via Google Form. • Please be sure to remove the composer’s name anywhere that it might appear: title page, copyright notice, headers/ footers, etc. and on audio file information. • All scores must be submitted in PDF format. All audio files must be in MP3 format. • Submissions will be accepted from February 15, 2021, through March 15, 2021, 11:59 p.m. PST. • Submissions that do not meet the above requirements will not be considered. • Compositions will be judged on the following seven criteria: overall effect, harmonic interest, setting of text, overall craft, originality, cosmetics of score, and marketability. • As we are interested in finding works that might considered for inclusion in the CCDA Choral Series with Pavane Publishing, we will consider the composition’s marketability.
The winning composition will be chosen by a committee of three CCDA members and will be announced on the CCDA website on April 15, 2021. The winning composer will receive a scholarship for tuition, room, and board at ECCO 2021if the conference takes place in person this year, and will have their composition distributed and read at the summer conference, whether it occurs in person or online. New this year: The winning composer will also receive a $500 cash prize. The winning score may be given consideration for inclusion in the CCDA Choral Series (Pavane Publishing).
CCDA reserves to the right to declare “no winner” if it is deemed appropriate.
