Applications are being received for a composition competition as part of a concert of a capella choral music 'Versus – Of God and Man' which will take place at the Mdina Cathedral on November 25 as part of the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale between November 13 and January 7.
For this concert the chamber choir 'Collegium Musicale' from Estonia will be performing music by the Maltese composer Reuben Pace as well as music by Estonian composers.
This renowned chamber choir was founded in 2010 by Endrik Üksvärav who is also the principal conductor of the choir and a professional tenor. The repertoire of the choir extends from renaissance to contemporary music, with a focus on early music and the work of Estonian composers (Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Veljo Tormis etc).
The choir has won several awards including the Gran Prix in Gorizia, Italy (first prize) and the Gran Prix in Arezzo, Italy (second prize). They also released several CDs including Peegel peeglis with the music of Arvo Pärt and Pärt Uusberg and also Roxanna Panufnik's Tallin Mass for Warner Classics. The choir has also toured extensively with performances in Italy, France, and Japan. Last year the choir was awarded Choir of the Year 2014 by the Estonian Choral Association.
The submitted composition must satisfy crucial requirements which include a duration of not more than three minutes; text which should preferably be of a religious nature in English, Italian, Latin, Maltese or Estonian; a scoring for chamber choir SATB (16 performers) a capella, and any style or idiom which excludes the use of electronics.
The deadline for submissions, with an entry fee of €25, is November 1, 2015.
There are no age or nationality restrictions. The first four works chosen will be workshopped with the choir in the period between November 19 and 24 in Malta. The winning entry shall be performed publically on November 25. A recording of the performance shall be made for personal use only.
Three copies of the score and queries about fee payment should be sent to the following address: 'House of Music', Triq Dun Manwel Żammit, Siġġiewi, SGW 3014 , Malta.
The name of the composer should not appear on the score itself but details of the composer including contact details should be put on a separate application sheet. A piano reduction should also be included in the submission.
A pdf of the score and a MIDI rendering in mp3 format should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Queries and the application sheet should be sent to the same email address.
For a version of this press release as published in MaltaToday please click on the following link.
The call was also published in the Sunday Times of Malta culture supplement Escape.
A Maltese version of the call for applications published in L-Orizzont is available here.
