I just saw a fabulous video, appropriate for teachers,musicians, and even children, about what happens when we copy creative works. While it might seem somewhat self-serving to blog about this, I will tell you that composers especially get so little of the money made from music that sometimes it’s completely un-motivating to write anything! If you want to know what makes what in the […]
-
Christmas Carol Contest for Composers
Christmas Carol Contest for Composers
I received this information about the sixteenth Christmas Carol contest and was thrilled that this years’ instrumentation is SATB plus piano! The deadline to enter the contest is August 2.
This year marks the sixteenth year of the Welcome Christmas Carol Contest, as VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum provide composers with the opportunity to compose a modern-day carol.
This year’s contest requires writing a carol for SATB chorus accompanied […]
-
Composing in Alaska?
Composing in Alaska?
I received information on what seems to be a beautiful opportunity to compose in Alaska. Here is that information:
2013 Composing in the Wilderness Field Seminar
A one-of-a-kind experience for adventurous composers. Draw inspiration from Alaska’s wilderness, write original music about it, and hear it performed – all within two weeks!
July 10-23, 2013
Expanding on the success of the 2012 Composing in the Wilderness field seminar, this […]
-
Composition Competitions for Students
Composition Competitions for Students
Here is a list of some of the composition competitions of which I am aware. If you know of others, please leave them in the comments section and I’ll add them! (more…)
Women Composers: Composition Competitions
If you are a woman composer and are looking for some competitions that are not restricted especially to younger composers, then take a look at what the International Alliance for Women in Music has to offer:
The IAWM holds an annual composition competition for women composers called the “Search for New Music.” This international competition includes ten […]
Finale Notation Products
My students just finished their week of our Songwriting Workshop and we used Finale Notepad 2012 (free) to make lead sheets. While this is a very helpful tool, it has many limitations, so I wanted to outline the other Finale products that are available for purchase which do not have as many limitations:
PrintMusic® is designed […]
Summer Camp for Junior Composers
Someone recently told me about an excellent summer opportunity for jr. composers called The Junior Composers Institute. JCI will be held this year from July 15-21st in Minneapolis, MN.
There is no restriction to applying for any of the three programs other than age and paying the fees. There is even a two week program that has no formal restrictions other than age (14-20). […]
Finale Notepad 2012 is Now Free!
You’ve probably already seen me announce this on my Facebook page, or perhaps have seen it announced by all the many wonderful piano teaching bloggers out there, but Finale Notepad 2012 is now free! Download it here.
Here’s what Finale Music says about their Notepad:
NotePad is, of course, entry-level music notation software. […]
Creativity Traded for Efficiency
If you are interested at all in the concept of creativity, you need to read this Wall Street Journal article, “Chains That Set us Free.” Now, there have been any number of articles, musicians, and all kinds of creatives that talk about the benefits of setting limits when […]
20th C Scandal: Performing but Not Composing?
Thanks to a teaching friend* on Google+, I was alerted to a short article by Stephen Hough called Can You Be a Musician and Not Write Music? which talked about how the 19th century public would have viewed musicians who performed, but didn’t compose. I’m not alerting you to this to make you add “compose major work” to your New Years resolutions, but […]
Follow Us!