The UCD School of Music is launching a new national composition prize for secondary school students.
The prize is open to Transition Year and Leaving Cert Music students. Entry is free and the winning piece will be performed by the UCD Composition Ensemble in the National Concert Hall on April 19th. There are also cash prizes for the top three pieces. Works will be judged on both creative strengths and technical strengths by a panel of composition teachers from the UCD School of Music and students of the UCD Composition Ensemble. The deadline is Jan 18th.
How To Apply
This competition is free and open to students from Transition Year to Leaving Cert/A-Levels who are resident anywhere on the island of Ireland.
Compose for any combination of 1-4 instruments or voices (electronic parts are also possible).
Our ensemble line-up is highly flexible, so almost any combination of instruments can be accommodated. If in doubt, you can focus on the more commonly available instruments (e.g. voice, guitar, piano, bass, violin, viola, flute, clarinet, etc. etc., although many others are also possible), or if you have any specific queries, please email composition@nullucd.ie.
You can write in any style – what we are looking for are original and creative voices! Submissions will be judged on the originality and coherence of the musical idea, how well the music is written for the chosen instruments, and how well-presented the score is.
Submit your original composition as a pdf, with an accompanying recording or MIDI realisation if possible. (You can create a MIDI file using notation software such as Sibelius or Musescore.)
Include your name, contact details, and the name of your school.
The winning piece will be performed by the UCD Composition Ensemble in Ireland’s National Concert Hall on Friday 19th April 2024.
Email your entries to composition@nullucd.ie
Deadline for submissions: January 18th 2024
Find out more here: UCD Composition Ensemble – UCD School of Music
