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CASA is proud to collaborate with the United States Air Force Band of the West to provide an exciting new opportunity for student composers of San Antonio. This competition seeks to further establish CASA as a leader for contemporary music in the south Texas region.

Award

Two to three student composer finalists will be chosen to refine an existing work or compose a new work to be premiered either by the USAF Band of the West’s Woodwind Quintet or Brass Quintet in a masterclass/reading session format. Each finalist will be paired with a composer mentor from CASA throughout the writing process. The featured compositions (4-8 minutes in duration), which must not have received a prior public performance, will be presented at the New in SA concert on May 22, 2022. Finalists will provide professional performance materials (i.e., parts) by April 22, 2022. Finalists are expected to attend the performance, which will be live-streamed and recorded at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX.

The finalists, after selection, will be matched with either a woodwind quintet of traditional instrumentation (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon) or brass quintet (two trumpets, trombone, horn and tuba) which consists of members of the USAF Band of the West. Works should not require a conductor or mixed media.

Entry Fee

There is no entry fee.

Eligibility

Students of any age who are residents of San Antonio/Bexar County and/or are in a music program (taking courses or lessons) in San Antonio are encouraged to apply.

Entry Deadline

All applications must be completed and received by February 1, 2022. The winning entries will be announced by February 22, 2022.

Procedure

All applications for the New in SA Composition Competition are submitted electronically via the CASA Submission Form Page: https://forms.gle/nYruHPY2Koc1KpJX8

The following are required material for entry:

1. A Cover Sheet (PDF format) containing the following information: Save file as: Last name-First name-Cover Sheet.pdf
   1. Length (of each individual work)
   2. Date of Composition (the actual Date(s) of composition for each piece)
2. MP3 recordings of the scores provided. Save files as: Last name-First name-Title.mp3. MIDI/computer realizations are acceptable.
3. PDFs of scores for 2-3 representative works which demonstrate familiarity with composing for small chamber groups. Works composed for woodwind or brass quintet, or any combination of those instruments is preferred but not required. The goal of the review is to understand the applicant’s technical and musical ability as well as potential in writing for the available ensembles. Submitted works should be between 2-10 minutes in duration. Examples of works in mixed media are welcome. Works should be by one composer, not joint efforts. Works of any style, aesthetic, genre, and notation will be accepted. A panel consisting of members of the CASA organization will evaluate the pieces and choose the winning entries. Save files as: Last name-First name-Title.pdf

Copies must be neat, legible, and clearly edited, and should include:

1. composition title;
2. composer’s name;
3. length and date of composition.

If you have any questions, please contact us.