Greetings SCI Membership!

According to the current by-laws for our organization, it is time to elect a Treasurer from the ranks of our membership to serve as part of the SCI National Office and Executive Committee.

The SCI Treasurer is the leader of the National Office, answering to the President of the organization. Working with the President, Vice-President, and General Manager, the SCI Treasurer’s duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Assist the SCI President, Vice President, and General Manager to prepare a budget during each fiscal year in office;

• Prepare and review tax documents and sign off on any official SCI budget documentation;

• Oversee, monitor, and authorize financial transactions on behalf of the membership of SCI.

• Assist the General Manager in the collection of membership dues.

• Attend meetings and give financial reports to the Executive Committee.

Information about the Candidates for SCI Treasurer can be found here. (this information is also linked within the Google Form below)

Please take a moment to cast your vote here.

Voting will close at 23:59 UTC on April 22, 2025.

The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) is excited to announce Marco Battigelli as the recipient for the 2024 Jazz Composition Award for his work “Love is Anterior to Life.”

Marco Battigelli (Trieste, 1992) is a pianist, composer, arranger, jazz orchestra conductor and choir director. He graduated with honors in Jazz Piano from the “G. Tartini” Conservatory of Trieste and later earned a degree in Jazz Composition from the “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatory in Milan, both with top marks and distinction. In parallel, he studied classical piano under Federico Consoli and jazz composition with Miho Hazama, Ed Partyka, and Mike Abene.

He received an Honorable Mention at the Jazz Education Network in Orlando (Florida, USA, 2023), the 1st prize at the Barga Jazz International Composition Competition (2022), the 1st prize at the VII Nicola Paoli National Arrangement Competition (2022), the 1st prize at the Biennial Composition Competition “La Gnove Musiche” organized by the Filarmonici Friulani Youth Orchestra (2023), and the Best Arrangement Award at the Solevoci International A Cappella Contest in Varese (2014).

He has been a finalist in numerous competitions, including the Helsinki International Big Band Composing Contest of the UMO Jazz Orchestra (Helsinki – Finland, 2023), “Jazz Comp Graz” (Graz – Austria, 2023), “Scrivere In Jazz” competition (Sassari – Italy, 2020), and the Barga Jazz International Composition Competition (Barga – Italy, 2023).

He was commissioned by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Miho Hazama, to compose for the London Jazz Festival 2023, where he presented the symphonic premiere of his piece “A Counting Out Song” with an international broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre in London, featuring soloists Rob Luft, Corrie Dick, and Tom McCredie.

As a conductor and arranger, he has collaborated with various symphony orchestras, including the ICO Orchestra of Magna Grecia (with singers Ola Onabulé, Aliki from Britain’s Got Talent, Achille Lauro, Ermal Meta, Frida Bollani Magoni, and Fabio Cinti), the Filarmonici Friulani Youth Orchestra (with singer Boris Savoldelli and drummer U.T. Gandhi), and the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra (Ermal Meta).

Additionally, Marco has participated in numerous collaborations and recordings as a pianist, composer, and jazz orchestra conductor. These include the Gubbio NoBorders Big Band with trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, the Verdi Jazz Orchestra with Pino Jodice and saxophonist Emanuele Cisi, the Colours Jazz Orchestra directed by Massimo Morganti, as well as the orchestras of Mario Corvini, Antonello Sorrentino, and the Orchestra Jazz della Sardegna (OJS).

He has received over 200 commissions for compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions for solo instruments, small ensembles, big bands, choirs, vocal groups, symphony orchestras, and wind orchestras.

His original compositions are published in educational manuals by Morlacchi Editore, Volontè & Co Srl, and Edizioni Pizzicato Verlag Helvetia.

The judges for the 2024 competition were:

Rob Hutchinson, Tacoma, WA

Vanessa Perica, Melbourne, Australia

Stephen P. Harvey, Salisbury, MD

SCI is pleased to announce a call for submissions to the 2025 SCI Regions I & II Conference! Regions 1 and 2, in advance of their merger, will cohost a Regional SCI Conference at the University of Maine (Orono) February  21-23, 2025. This call for score submissions will be adjudicated by SCI peer composers and the performers involved.

All submissions are due by September 9, 2024, with the selection process anticipated to be completed in October.

Selected composers must be current SCI members. Preference will be given to members within the current Region I and II.

Region 1: ME, NH, VT, CT, RI, MA (NF, NS, NB, PQ, PE.
Region 2: NY, NJ, PR.

We welcome and encourage student submissions, submissions of works for which the composer can provide performers, and submissions from composers of historically marginalized groups.

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 (links to audio and/or midi files, or filmed performances) should be submitted online only via the appropriate Google form link.

Submitted works can fit into any of these categories:

1. Art songs – voice and piano
2. Chamber music – winds, piano, electronic accompaniments – both solo and small ensemble works
3. UMaine Trombone Quartet
4. University Singers – roughly 50-membered auditioned group
5. Euphony – semi-professional chamber choir
6. Performers provided by the composer OR composer-performed works
7. Fixed Media and/or Live Electronic Performance and/or Video – stereo playback only

For more details and submission links, visit the conference’s dedicated SCI webpage here.

Questions about this call for score should be sent to bwiemann[at]maine[dot]edu.

SCI is pleased to announce the results of the Super Regional Winter Mixtape of 2023-2024! Congratulations to our final selections and honorable mentions outlined below. To listen to the mixtape and learn more about the composers and their work, please visit the mixtape page at http://wp.societyofcomposers.org/sci-super-regional-winter-mixtape-2023-2024/

Final Selections

1. Pedro Lopes Baptista – Abstração
2. Dinah Bianchi – Magenta Sunset 
3. Benjamin Damann – Herbstlied 
4. Eric Davis – Chacchoben Ruminations 
5. Xinyuan Deng – Magic of Snow
6. Jeremy Esquer – Reflexiones de la Naturaleza Op. 1, No. 2 Ocean 
7. Will Judd – Until I Came Home 
8. Pak Hei Leung – from:/to: home 
9. Wenbin Lyu – Galactic Playground 
10. Daniel Swartz – Speak a kind word 
11. Shahrzad Talebi – Instinctual 

Thank you to Anruo Cheng for producing and mastering the mixtape and to the adjudicators for their time and effort in this selection process!

Adjudicators

• Cory Brodack
• Eric Delgado
• Arjan Dogra
• Indigo Knecht
• Yi-Ning Lo
• Hanee Park
• Sepehr Pirasteh
• Leah Tracy

SCI is pleased to announce the results of the Super Regional Summer Mixtape! Congratulations to our final selections and honorable mentions outlined below. To listen to the mixtape and learn more about the composers and their work, please visit the mixtape page at http://wp.societyofcomposers.org/sci-super-regional-summer-mixtape-2023/.

Final Selections

Cory Brodack – Human Becoming
Arjan Dogra – Dil-e-Nadaan
Indigo Knecht – highly volatile
Solomon Kim – Destroy the Reified Abstract Concrete Superstructure of Doom!
Yi-Ning Lo – Alien, Cabbage, and Me
Ky Nam Nguyen – The Boat and the Sea
Hanee Park – EO DOOG SHI NI
Sepehr Pirasteh – When They Broke Down the Door
Dmitri Volkov – Xenexhibition

Honorable Mentions

Ian T. Jones – Sagittarius A*
Kevin Leysath – Introspection
Sami Seif – Orientalism
Helkin F. Sosa – Take it Easy (from “Jazz + Emotion”)
David Vess – Rift
Justin Weiss – Multitudes

Additional thank yous to the adjudicators for their time and effort in this selection process!

Adjudicators

Anruo Cheng
Wan Heo
Molly Joyce
Joshua Mallard
Treya Nash
Armando Torrealba
Leaha Villarreal

And additional thank yous to Anruo Cheng for her mastering work on the mixtape!

The Society of Composers, Inc. is excited to announce a call for recordings for our Super Regional Winter 2024 Student Mixtape. For this mixtape, there are no restrictions on style or ensemble and may be live, studio, or solely fixed-media recordings. The mixtape will have a duration of approximately 60 – 90 minutes in total and will feature composers from Regions V through IX. Selected works will be promoted on the SCI website, social media, and other platforms. Composers that submit works may receive testimonials and/or reviews of their music. See the following parameters:

1)     Composers must be a student (high school, undergraduate, or graduate) in one of the following regions:

a. Region V: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Manitoba, and Ontario.
b. Region VI: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.
c. Region VII: Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, and California.
d. Region VIII: Arkansas, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
e. Region IX: Areas outside of North America.

2)     Composer must be a member of SCI to be featured on the mixtape. However, membership may be obtained after notification of acceptance.

a. Membership fees are $15 with complimentary membership for composers identifying as BIPOC

3)     MIDI renderings and VSTi productions are prohibited.

4)     Works may be 15 minutes or less in length

5)     Works with high quality recordings will be given preference.

6)     Works must be submitted via a Google Drive, Dropbox, Soundcloud, YouTube, Vimeo, or another streaming link.

a. Multimedia works (video, interactive web interface, etc) will also be considered.
b. Multichannel recordings may be submitted as a binaural stereo reduction.

7)     Finalists and Honorable Mentions will be included in the announcement. Selected composers may also receive a testimonial or review from an adjudicator. See the Society of Composers website for more information on previous mixtapes.

To submit, please complete the Google Form below. Please note that recordings should be submitted in mp3 format unless the work is for multimedia or a streaming link.

https://forms.gle/gZYBgVAuU33t84RdA

Please send all questions to ˈtoʊ-drɔ-ˈki at composertodroki@gmail.com with the subject line “Question | Super Regional Mixtape.” Submissions are due by November 25th at 11:59 PDT. Applicants will be notified of their status by December 14^th, 2023.

We look forward to reviewing your submission!

ˈtoʊ-drɔ-ˈki

SCI is pleased to announce special citations for four of the graduate level composers who participated in the SCI Competition and Mentoring Program, Graduate Cycle:

Anuj Bhutani, First Place, for On Letting Go (cello and live electronics)
Anuj is a 1st year MM student at USC, currently studying with Ted Hearne. He is in SCI Region 7.

Paul Novak, Second Place, for almostdances (string quartet)
Paul is a 3rd year PhD in Composition, UChicago, currently studying with Augusta Read. Thomas. He is in SCI Region 5.

Susanna Payne-Passmore, Honorable Mention, for World on Fire (string quartet)
Susanna is a 3rd year PhD Student at University of Pennsylvania, currently studying with Tyshawn Sorey. They are in SCI Region 3.

Devin Cholodenko, Honorable Mention, for Chasing Memory (flute, Bb clarinet, violin, and cello)
Devin is a First year DMA student at University of Miami, currently studying with Dorothy Hindman. He is in SCI Region 2.

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 scoring composers also receive special 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 early career composers.

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

Zae Munn