DilettanteMusic.com, the web’s global classical music hub, has announced the launch of its Digital Composer-in-Residence competition, which makes DilettanteMusic.com the web’s first social network to commission and present original content from its community.
The competition launches alongside the site’s brand new intuitive searching and shopping features.
A Unique Competition Uniting Online and Offline Music
Composers from around the world are invited to submit their work for the opportunity to be the first Digital Composer-In-Residence on DilettanteMusic.com. By opening the competition to a global audience and hosting a virtual residency, Dilettante is redefining the concept of a composer-in-residence for the Digital Age to provide the winning composer with a sustained platform and profile.
Composers can submit their work until 1 September 2009, when an international panel of judges including Anna Meredith and Michael Christie will select three finalists. Then, embracing Web 2.0 principles that put-decision making in the hands of the community, Dilettante will post podcasts of the finalists’ works on the Dilettante site where users can choose the winner by voting for their favourite work. The winner will be announced at a live concert on 5th November, 2009 and the year-long residency will begin.
“The Digital Composer in Residence competition is the first extension of our online community into the world of commissioning and concert programming”, said Juliana Farha, Founder, DilettanteMusic.com. “At Dilettante, we’re interested in showcasing content our online community creates while providing an innovative outlet for classical and contemporary classical music”.
Dilettante Live: New Compositions and Works that Inspired them
The competition culminates with a live concert on 5th November, 2009 at London’s Wilton’s Music Hall, the oldest surviving music hall in the world. All three finalists will have the opportunity to programme a portion of the concert, complementing their competition submission with music that influences them. This way, the competition juxtaposes new and old music, contextualising sometimes-daunting contemporary works within the classical tradition that inspires them.
The winner will be revealed at the concert, and the event will be webcast on the Dilettante site, and on the Dilettante YouTube channel.
The Prize
The winner will receive the Digital Composer-In-Residence Award worth £1000, and a year-long ‘digital residency’ on the Dilettante website, including a ‘composer’s corner’ blog on the homepage and a podcast series. They will lead online masterclasses and take part in forum discussions with Dilettante members. The residency will conclude with a live event, which will include a newly commissioned work.
Confirmed Judges
Andrew Burke: former head of LSO Discovery, the London Symphony Orchestra’s community and education programme, and current Chief Executive of London Sinfonietta Andrew has previously worked in education roles at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and at Blackheath Concert Halls in South East London.
Michael Christie: the music director of the Phoenix Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Colorado Music Festival, Michael Christie first came to international attention in 1995 when he was awarded a special prize at the First International Sibelius Conductors’ Competition in Helsinki. He was then invited to become an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently worked with Daniel Barenboim in Chicago and Berlin. He has embarked on a range of interdisciplinary collaborations with visual artists, dance companies, and theatre groups, along with contemporary composers such as Ligeti, Golijov and Tan Dun.
Anna Meredith: a British composer of acoustic and electronic music, Anna Meredith was the Composer in Residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 2004-2007. Her new work, which was commissioned by the BBC, will premiere at the BBC Proms on 9th August 2009.
Nico Muhly: a rising star in contemporary composition, the Juilliard graduate’s work was featured in the Oscar-winning film The Reader. Muhly’s compositions have been performed by the American Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony and many others. In 2006, his work It Remains to be Seen was commissioned by Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute Orchestra to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
For the latest information about the competition and more, go to:
2009 Timeline:
* 1 September – Application deadline
* 15 October to 5 November – Online voting
* 5 November – Concert at Wilton’s Music Hall.
* 9 November – Residency begins
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About DilettanteMusic.com
Dilettante is an online music hub where you can search and discover classical music and the people who create it. Bringing together musicians, composers and listeners from 105 countries, Dilettante is the web’s only global classical music community. Members and visitors come from more than 100 countries as far a field as China, Australia and Argentina, and include organisations big and small, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the New English Conservatory. The site offers a wide range of innovative tools to learn and listen, to purchase music and concert tickets, to share news and views and to find musical collaborators.
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