OXFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is offering emerging UK composers the opportunity to win a commission to compose a new orchestral work.

Competition entrants are invited to submit two existing compositions for consideration by 3 February 2014. The winning composer will in addition to the commission be awarded a prize of 2000 and a premier of their new work in March 2015. Oxford Symphony Orchestra is the citys leading non-professional orchestra. It makes a distinctive contribution to musical life in Oxford with the performance of large and sometimes less well-known works. The commission will be an interesting project for the winning composer with opportunities to engage with players and the Musical Director. It will also be an exciting opportunity for players in the Orchestra who will have the stimulus of learning a new work with input from the composer. COMPETITION RULES AND GUIDELINES 1. 2. i) The competition is targeted at emerging composers and is open to any British Citizen or a UK resident. The winner will be awarded A commission to compose a work for the orchestra in accordance with the specification in point 6 below, which will be performed as the first work at the concert given by the orchestra in Oxford Town Hall on 14 March 2015 (conducted by the Musical Director Robert Max). The sum of 2,000, the first half of which will be paid at the workshop session in November 2014 after submission of the first draft of the work , and the second half of which will be paid on delivery of the final revised version of the work in January 2015.

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iii) A recording of the work, made either at the concert on 14 March or at the final rehearsal of the work, as decided by the Musical Director. 3. Entries shall be sent to The Chairman Oxford Symphony Orchestra, The Gable House, Faringdon Road, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 1BG. The deadline for receipt of applications is 5.00pm on Monday 3 February 2014. Applicants shall submit i) Scores of two existing compositions (whether already performed or not), one of which must be for full orchestra and one a contrasting piece for instrumental ensemble. Three copies of each score should be provided and the applicants name should not appear on the scores. A short CV including a list of works composed and details of performances Scores may be accompanied by an mp3 sound file or similar. (Applicants may submit a Sibelius recording but should bear in mind that this may not give a fair reflection of the composition). Applicants should send a suitable sized SAE if they wish scores and other material to be returned. 4. The judging panel will comprise Joseph Phibbs (composer and teacher), Mark van de Wiel (principal clarinettist of the London Sinfonietta and the Philharmonia Orchestra) and Robert Max (Musical Director of OSO). The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The judges reserve the right to decline to award the prize if none of the entries is in their absolute discretion deemed suitable. The winner will be announced at the end of April 2014.

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Specification for the work composed: The work must be one which the orchestra can engage with and enjoy rehearsing and which the audience will enjoy listening to. It must be also appropriately accessible for performance by OSO and orchestras of OSOs standard in terms of technical difficulty. The work must be of 10 -12 minutes duration. The work must include the following instrumentation: 2 flutes (one may double piccolo), 2 oboes (one may double cor anglais), 2 clarinets (both B flat and A, one may double bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones (2 tenor and bass), 1 tuba, timpani (maximum of 3), percussion (maximum of 2 players. The following instruments may be used: bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, woodblocks. Other instruments may be available on request.) strings (first and second violin, viola, cello double bass). iii) Optional additional instruments: 3 oboe, 3 flute, 3 clarinet or bass clarinet, contrabassoon iv) Electronically generated sound will be permitted provided that the equipment generating it is in common usage. v) The score and orchestral parts must be produced by the composer. These must be Sibelius printed or equivalent, bound or centrally stapled, and careful attention must be paid to page turns in all orchestral material.
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vi) The composer must be willing to engage with the orchestra in the composition process. vii) The composer will retain the copyright to the work composed but the Oxford Symphony Orchestra retains the right to perform / use the work in perpetuity. 7. The winner will be required to attend an OSO rehearsal in Oxford on a Tuesday evening in early May 2014, soon after the prize has been awarded to learn more about the orchestra. By then, the remainder of the programme for the concert would have been decided. The winner will also be required to attend a "workshop" session with the orchestra towards the end of November 2014 with the first draft of the composition (the score of this to be submitted early October 2014), to submit the final revised score and orchestral parts in early January 2015, to attend a further final session with the orchestra in the week or two immediately prior to the concert and to attend the concert on 15 March 2015. Reasonable travelling expenses will be reimbursed on production of relevant vouchers (to be pre-approved if total in excess of 200). Dates: 3 February 2014 - applications to be submitted End of April 2014 - award announced May 2014 - winner attend OSO rehearsal Early of October 2014 score to be submitted Mid/end November 2014 - workshop session with orchestra Early January 2015 - final revised score and parts submitted March 2015 - session with orchestra with work in final form 14 March 2015 - concert

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All enquiries to the Chairman, enquiries@oxfordsymphonyorchestra.org or 01235 526234 www.oxfordsymphonyorchestra.org