By any chance, RedScharlach, do you have any tips? Thanks in advance
I am not very informed on the matter... I am more up to date on those "criminal" contests by Gino!
Anyway, a suggestion comes to mind: in many choral composition competitions, it is required to write pieces "for amateur ensembles of a good level", or formulas of that sort. In these cases, tonal or modal writing (to put it crudely) is often preferred over various kinds of "experimentation". And after all, writing well for choir, in an imaginative and accurate way, is a great satisfaction and a test of professionalism!
On the website http://www.composerssite.com/, competition announcements for American university choirs are often posted. They are frequently ensembles of an excellent level.
And another competition has gone without any result.
It was the competition announced by the "Villiers Quartet" of London: composition for string quartet with a maximum of 20 minutes. There was a good response from composers from all continents; today, the videos of the semifinalists were published on their website: in practice, the quartet chose six compositions and recorded a part of each one. From today until July 31st, you can (after registering on the site) listen to these excerpts and vote. The top three will participate in the final (public concert in London on September 21st).
Since the duration was fine, I sent the same quartet with which I had participated last year in the "Florence String Quartet Call for Score". Unfortunately, I am not among the six selected... but I must admit that the organizers behaved like gentlemen: I received an email of compliments for the composition (strange to say, the third of the four movements was more appreciated, which I thought was less interesting than the others). It must also be said that, from the little I could listen to (in the coming days I will evaluate everything with greater attention), it doesn't seem to me that the selection gave space to the usual modern pieces made only of noises and strange effects (I had this impression also listening on Youtube to the finalist pieces of the 2012 edition).
Competitions are a stimulus for those who write, perhaps being able to participate more consistently and, above all, with well-written works. The length of the compositions is sometimes (the minimum) not easy to achieve. The email you received is already a stimulus, especially because they indicated as the most interesting part for them exactly the one that does not convince you.
it doesn't seem to me that the selection gave space to the usual modern pieces made only of noises and strange effects (I had this impression also while listening on Youtube to the finalist pieces of the 2012 edition).
