The Society of Composers, Inc. is pleased to announce a call for works for its 2023 Online National Conference, hosted by Beth Wiemann and the SCI Executive Committee.

This conference will take place virtually during the weekend of June 2 through 4, 2023. We recognize the need for a national, peer-reviewed conference for our members, and despite the challenges that this (post?) COVID-19 world presents, we are excited to come together virtually to share music, knowledge, and ideas.

Deadline for submissions: March 15, 2023

Anticipated notification of accepted submissions: April 15, 2023

For full details on submission guidelines and to apply, visit our page under upcoming conferences or visit the New Music Engine page here!

SCI is pleased to announce the upcoming Region VIII Conference at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, on February 24-25th, hosted by Rob Hutchinson. The conference guest composer is Reena Esmail. Please join us for two days of fantastic new music from Region VIII!

SCI is pleased to announce the opening for submissions to the Graduate Composer Mentorship Program. Graduate-level composers are invited to submit a chamber work for detailed feedback from 3 commentators as part of SCI’s Graduate Composer Mentoring Opportunity, chamber music focus. This is a significant benefit of SCI membership and can provide a greater breadth of feedback on your work than you might receive in your graduate program alone. In addition, there will be regional and national recognition and modest monetary awards for the highest-rated pieces.

To apply, please visit the google form here.

Contact Zae Munn with any questions: zmunn[at]saintmarys[dot]edu

The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) is proud to announce the results of its 2022 Jazz Composition Award for an outstanding work for large jazz ensemble.

Vanessa Perica (Melbourne, Australia) was named the winner of the 2022 Award for her composition, Woody’s Lament.

The judges also named Ivan Tangkulung (Indonesia) an honorable mention for his composition 12345.

For the full announcement and details about each of these wonderful composers, please visit our page at http://wp.societyofcomposers.org/sci-jazz-competition/.

The judges for the 2022 SCI Jazz Composition Award were Annie Booth (Denver, CO), Igor Karača (Stillwater, OK), and David Carter (Conway, SC).

The SCI Jazz Composition Award is an annual competition that awards a $500 prize to the composer of an outstanding work for jazz ensemble. Application to the award competition is free for members of SCI. Details about the 2023 competition will be announced in summer 2023.

Ohio University is pleased to announce a call for works for the 2023 Region V Conference of the Society of Composers, Inc. The conference will be held on the campus of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio from November 2-4, 2023. The call opens Nov. 15. The deadline for submissions is Feb 1, 2023.

Selected composers must be current SCI members. Preference will be given to members within Region V (IN, MI, MN, OH, IL, IA, ND, SD, WI, MB, ON). Student submissions are welcomed and encouraged. Submission of works for which the composer can provide performers are welcomed and encouraged. Submissions of works from composers of marginalized groups are highly encouraged and welcomed.

Composers may submit up to 2 works. Works that are no more than 15 minutes in duration will have the best chance of being programmed. All scores (pdfs) and recordings (mp3, MIDI is acceptable if no live recording is available) should be submitted online only via the New Music Engine website (www.newmusicengine.org).

For full submission guidelines and a direct link to the submission portal, visit http://societyofcomposers.org/conferences/2023-sci-region-v-conference/

SCI is pleased to announce special citations for three of the undergraduate composers who participated in the SCI Competition and Mentoring Program, Undergraduate Cycle:

Will Davenport, First Place
–Will studies with Robert McClure at Ohio University

Jack Kaiser, Second Place
–Jack studies with David T. Little at Mannes School of Music

Moa Glimberg, Honorable Mention
–Moa studies with Christopher Schmitz at Mercer University

Our emphasis in the Mentoring Program is on providing value to every participant in the form of detailed, expert comments on the piece they have submitted. As such, it is a significant benefit of membership for our student and early career composers. The top one or two scoring composers receive recognition and modest financial awards. If the number of participants merits it, regional recognition and awards may also be given. The next cycle will be for graduate students, followed by early career composers.

Questions? Contact Zae Munn, Coordinator of the Mentoring Program: zmunn[at]saintmarys[dot]edu

Zae Munn

As Coordinator of the SCI Student and Early Mentorship Program, I am pleased to announce the results of the very first offering of this opportunity for pre-college composers who are SCI members. All composers who submitted received detailed feedback from three commentators. The commentators also determined a 1st and 2nd place winner, both of whom will receive a monetary gift.

Jack Kaiser is our 1st place winner. He submitted The Tangibility of Colour for flute, oboe, vibraphone, double bass, and piano. Jack is a student of Cynthia van Maanan and he is 17. He just graduated from high school. Jack is in SCI Region 5.

Sky Yang is our 2nd place winner. He submitted Colourful Escapade for symphony orchestra. Sky is a student of Roydon Tse and he is 14. He just completed 9th grade and is also in SCI Region 5.

Congratulations to Jack and Sky and to all the high school composers who chose to submit. All submitters receive the substantial benefit of in-depth feedback about their work. Next up will be the undergraduates, with a likely submission period of September 1 through October 1.

Zae Munn

Attention SCI Region II Conference Applicants:

Thank you all so much for your applications! We are in the thick of it with adjudication, after receiving over 280 applications for this conference. We are absolutely delighted to be able to review so much wonderful music, but due to the volume of applications and the number of participating parties in the adjudication process, we anticipate having the results finalized by mid-to-late June, rather than our originally planned deadline of May 15th. We apologize for the delay, but look forward to being in touch with you in the coming weeks. We also will have more details about conference registration at this time.

Thank you for your patience and more soon!

All best,

Natalie Draper and Neil Flory
SCI Region II Co-Chairs