Submission are now open for the SOUNZ Brass Composition Prize | Te Whakataetae Pūtētere a Toi te Arapūoru, closing on Monday 7 April, 2025.
The Brass Composition Prize is a collaboration between the SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music, the Brass Band Association of New Zealand and the Composers’ Association of New Zealand. Together they present a biennial composition prize for works for solo brass instrument, with optional accompaniment, to be performed at the National Championships of the Brass Band Association of New Zealand.
RULES
The piece:
- For brass instrument soloist – unaccompanied OR accompanied by piano. The solo instrument must be commonly found in New Zealand brass bands: soprano cornet, cornet, flugelhorn, tenor horn, baritone, tenor trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, E-flat bass, B-flat bass.
- Must be 3-6 minutes in length.
- Works must be suitable for the Invitation Slow Melody event at the National Championships of the Brass Band Association of New Zealand. In general terms, ‘slow melody’ can be defined as works of a primarily expressive, singing nature intended to display the performer’s cantabile playing and lyrical imagination.
- Pieces may have been performed before but may not have been commissioned, professionally recorded, commercially published or won prizes.
- Limit of one piece entered per composer.
- The piece must be the composer’s original work. Arrangements of existing material are not eligible for the prize.
Eligibility:
- Composers must be New Zealand citizens or must be permanently resident in New Zealand.
- There is no age restriction.
PRIZES
Winner:
- $400 cash.
- Performance of the winning work at the National Championships in Christchurch on 2 or 3 July 2025. This will be organised by BBANZ.
- The performance will be recorded and made available online.
- One year’s membership of CANZ (Composers Association of New Zealand) (optional).
Finalist(s):
- Performance of the finalist(s) work at the National Championships in Christchurch on 2 or 3 July 2025. This will be organised by BBANZ.
- The performance will be recorded and made available online.
In agreement with the composers, the scores and parts of the winning work and finalists’ work(s) will be made available for sale worldwide through SOUNZ in hardcopy and via PDF download.
SUBMISSION
Your completed submission must reach [email protected] by 5pm Monday, 7 April 2025.
Submissions are accepted via email only, and late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted. There is no entry fee.
What to send:
- PDF of the score (and solo part, if applicable).
- A second anonymous PDF of the score only, with your name and any identifying marks removed. This will be used for adjudication.
- Contact Details: full name, address, phone number, preferred email.
- Optional: If possible, a live or computer-generated recording in MP3 format. MP3 to contain no meta-data that could identify the composer.
ADJUDICATION
- The competition will be adjudicated by an established New Zealand composer with expertise in writing for brass. The identity of the adjudicator will be revealed after the results are finalised.
- Scores will be assessed anonymously.
- At the Adjudicator’s discretion up to two finalists may be named in addition to the winner.
- The Adjudicator’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
MISCELLANEOUS
By entering the competition the composer:
- Grants SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music and The Brass Band Association of New Zealand the right to reproduce the work for the purposes of adjudication and performance within the context of this competition.
- Grants SOUNZ and BBANZ the right to stream a recording of the work online indefinitely without any additional compensation paid to the composer.
- If requested, agree to be available for written, audio and/or video interviews to be used as resources on the partnering organisations’ branded media outlets, including broadcast and online.
- Understands photographs and film footage featuring themselves or their work can be made and used by the partnering organisations for documentary, archival, promotional and publicity purposes.
Any questions about the Prize or application process should be directed to [email protected].
SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music - sounz.org.nz
Brass Band Association of New Zealand - brassbanz.org.nz
CANZ Composers Association of New Zealand - www.canz.net.nz