NEW VOICES PROJECT FOR COMPOSERS UNDER 30

2023-24 Winner Jonathan Mitchell

Our New Voices Project winner for 2023-24 is Jonathan Mitchell, who’s winning piece “The Homing Bee” will be performed on our June concert set Birds & Bees & Dirty Knees. With a text by Canadian/Mohawk poet Emily Pauline Johnson (1861-1913), Jonathan describes the piece as “an ode to the bee's natural beauty, to its ecological role as pollinator, and to the honey it provides.”

Based in Chicago, Jonathan graduated from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music in 2019. Since then, in addition to composing music, he has been leading curricular development for the educational app MusiQuest. His music been performed by vocalists and instrumentalists associated with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM); Harvard University’s Choral Fellows, directed by Carson Cooman; and La Banda de Conciertos de San José, conducted by Thomas Verrier.

Competition Guidelines

The competition is closed as of February 1, 2024. Guidelines remain for reference.

Eligible composers are encouraged to submit new and creative a cappella choral works that suit the theme of our June 2024 concert Birds & Bees & Dirty Knees. Your chosen text must, in some way, deal with the theme of gardens. That can include anything having to do with garden animals, plants, insects, a specific garden, or gardens in general.

Basic Requirements

1. Composer must be under age 30 as of July 1, 2024.

2. Composer is responsible for obtaining relevant rights to use copyrighted material.

3. A composer may submit only one work.

4. There is no fee to participate in the New Voices Project.

Requirements of the Work

1. The work should be 2-4 minutes in length, with the length listed on the score.

2. Preference will be given to works that have not been performed in public, other than in an informal or academic setting.

3. For SATB a cappella chamber choir. The work may include some body percussion. Any divisi must be limited to no more than 8 parts.

4. Text may include spoken word, and may be in any language. A typed copy of the full original text, with facing line-by-line English translation, must be provided. If non-standard language(s) are used, a pronunciation guide must be included.

5. Include a note with your text stating whether it is in the public domain. If texts are copyrighted, written proof of permission of use must be provided. Texts written by the composer are discouraged.

Submitting the Work

1. The score PDF should include a page containing the text

2. The score should be placed in an online location from where we can download it. The filename should contain the composer’s last name and the title, as in this example: “Hindemith Six Chansons.pdf”

3. An audio file is encouraged in addition to the score, if possible, whether a performance or an electronic rendering. The filename should contain the composer’s last name and the title, as in this example: “Hindemith Six Chansons.mp3”. Any standard audio format is acceptable.

4. The first page of music in the score (not the title page) must include composer’s name, birth date, and complete composer contact information–including phone number and postal address.

5. Please fill out the form below and submit. It includes options for sharing your links to the score and audio files. If you are unable to provide these links, please write to composers@sfca.org. No one is excluded for not being able to meet this requirement.

Incomplete submissions will NOT be considered.

Winners

Up to three winners will be selected. The first-prize winner will receive $500*. All composer(s) and work(s) selected for participation in this program will receive the following:

1. The selected work(s) will be premiered by SFCA at concerts in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Oakland, California, on June 9, 15, and 16, 2024.

2. Communication by phone or email with SFCA’s Artistic Director, Magen Solomon (before and/or during rehearsals) on any aspect of the work’s notation, vocal issues, interpretation, and performance.

3. Two complimentary tickets for each performance of the work.

4. A professional-quality recording of one performance of the work.

The winning composer is not required to travel to the Bay Area to attend concerts in person. We regret that no travel funds are available.

*SFCA reserves the right to divide the prize money between two winners in the case of a tie.

Please feel free to share this opportunity!

Questions: composers@sfca.org