The first prize winner is Staffan Storm from Sweden
The Competition aroused great interest. We received 16 works which met the given criteria; eight from Finland, six from Sweden, one from Denmark and one from Iceland. The members of the jury were Mr Atso Almila, orchestra conductor, Mr Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and Mr Harri Wessman, composers and Ms Rita Varonen lecturer in choir conducting and choir conductor.
In general, the works were considered to have reached a fairly high level. The compositions revealed original musical innovations and some interesting text choices. The jury was very pleased with the great number of compositions, especially, since the task was considerably demanding as to the instrumentation and the extent of the composition.
Honorary prizes were awarded to Elisabeth Ask, Sweden, composition "I dessa vidders blå hör jag livets berättelse" and Seppo Äikäs, Finland, composition "A Vision in a Dream".
During the evaluation process, the top four compositions stood out from the other works. All of them combined a successful text idea with meaningful musical content and steady conducting of orchestra and choir. In addition to the monetary prizes, the jury decided to give out two honorary prizes to two compositions representing distinctive musical achievements in their own genre and deserving to be acknowledged. No further statements will be given by the jury.
Jyväskylän Naislaulajat r.y. (The Jyväskylä Female Choir) organizes a Nordic composition competition 5 April 2010 - 28 February 2011.
Participating composers must be citizens or permanent residents of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark or Iceland.
Participating works must be composed for a four-part female choir (SSAA) and an orchestra (specified below). The choral parts can temporarily (so that the proportion of the total time is not significant) be divided into more than four (4) parts but the number of parts cannot exceed eight (8).
Minimum running time of the composition is 30 minutes and the maximum is 45 minutes according to the composer's estimate. The estimated running time must be indicated in the score.
The composition must be written for this competition and it cannot be previously performed.
The composer can freely choose the subject and text of the composition. If the text used is copyrighted, the composer must have permission to use it. The lyrics can be in Finnish, Swedish, English or in Latin.
Each composer can participate this competition with one (1) composition. Simultaneous participation in another competition with the same composition is not allowed.
The maximum size of the orchestra is 2222/2200/01/0/archi (maximum numbers of strings 6/5/4/4/2) i.e. no more than
In addition the composition can include either two soloists or two solo instruments at the most. Only acoustic solo instruments are allowed (excluding the organ).
The orchestra can be smaller than the maximum line-up but there must be at least 20 players.
Jyväskylän Naislaulajat (The Jyväskylä Female Choir) reserves the right for first performances and recordings of the compositions until 31 December 2015.
The organizers have the right to broadcast (radio, TV), photograph or otherwise record performances of the participating works and publish the recordings on the Internet or other information networks. The organizers also have the right to sign away any of these rights. The organizers have the right to copy the compositions for the jury and also for the choir and third parties for rehearsing and performing.
The composer will hold the copyright of the composition.
The first prize of this competition is 5000€, the second 3000€ and the third 1000€. The jury has the right to award the prices differently. It is not possible to appeal the jury's decision. The organizers will apply for exemption from taxation for the prizes in Finland.
The four members of the jury are: Rita Varonen (chair), Atso Almila, Harri Wessman and Jaakko Mäntyjärvi. The jury has an assisting secretary.
Jyväskylän Naislaulajat opens the competition on 5 April 2010. Submission deadline for the participating works is 28 February 2011. Works arriving after the deadline will not be accepted.
All participants will be informed about the results of the competition. The results will be published no later than 31 September 2011.
Upon request the composer must deliver the orchestral parts on 31 October 2011 at latest.
The composer must choose a pseudonym; participating works must be submitted with the pseudonym and all pages of the participating material must be marked with it. The material for the competition must not include any other recognizable information.
The composition must be delivered as a material that includes
Instrumental parts of the orchestra are not included in the material; the composer has to deliver them upon request.
The secretary receives the material for the competition. Submission deadline is 28 February 2011. Date in the postmark is sufficient. Submitted material will not be returned. The organizers do not compensate any costs of participation.
Secretary of the competition is Merja Lehtomäki. Postal address is:
Jyväskylän kansalaisopisto
Jyväskylän Naislaulajat / Merja Lehtomäki
Vapaudenkatu 39-41
FI-40100 Jyväskylä
Finland
Envelopes must be marked with "Composition competition".
The secretary of the competition will reply enquiries at info@naislaulajat.net.
The organizers reserve the right for changes. The original language of these rules is Finnish and possible inconsistencies will be solved based on the Finnish version.
The competition is supported by The Finnish Cultural Foundation.
