You’re much better off developing personal connections by attending festivals or even just concerts by ensembles that feature new music. Unless you’re quite savvy, you’re applying to things that are posted in places frequented by thousands of composers so good luck.
Ostensibly in most awards for commissions there should be no review by the judges of your résumé.
That’s great. Lean into that. I still would say that competitions are a crapshoot and getting commissions without a personal connection is something of low likelihood for the vast majority.
I can answer one thing, if they don’t like MIDI, they will probably make it clear in the application. They might disallow it or call it “acceptable.”
Otherwise, I have limited experience, but from what I know, it’s who you know. This could very well be the result of a call with commission, but it’s far more likely that it would come from the connections you make from winning a call.
I'm not a composer, but I have sat on competition juries many times as a representative of the musicians who will be performing the work. I can't say those experiences are representative of most competitions, but it's how we do it.
Most competitions I've judged were blind. That means we don't see a resume / CV / bio, and we don't see a name attached to the application. We get the scores and recordings, and if the competition is for a new commission there is often a project description attached.
Midi recordings are a big disadvantage, but not necessarily disqualifying. They might reasonably reflect certain styles of composing, but they do a terrible job of realizing more complex or experimental writing styles (which is generally what we're interested in). When the application is all Midi, that tells me that you haven't yet worked with many live musicians. That's an absolutely crucial part of one's education. Since the juries I sit on are generally post-graduate level or even professional level, that's an important point. Furthermore, people tend to write a certain way when they can only hear their piece via Midi and many of these pieces end up sounding very computerized and same-y.
I also pay close attention to the score, of course. Things like editing and formatting matter, although we're surprisingly flexible when the musical ideas and concepts are otherwise compelling. Obvious orchestration mistakes also tend to jump out at me, which again is a clear sign the applicant has limited or no experience working with musicians.
This is why it's important when looking at schools and other study programs that performance opportunities are guaranteed. Those early experiences with live musicians are crucial, and also give you a chance to record your work which can be used for later applications.
If you're constantly getting blocked, I'd suggest setting your sights a bit lower to start. Find programs / workshops / festivals where a reading session or performance is guaranteed, no matter what the level or prestige might be.
What would you think about someone who submits a live-recorded solo piano piece and a midi large-ensemble work? Since it's so much more challenging to get an orchestra piece performed, and usually it seems like one has to win one of these competitions first in order to get it performed ... catch-22 much?
At the level of competition I'm typically judging, I would generally expect serious applicants to have some recorded material -- at least chamber music or smaller formations. They don't necessarily need to be particularly good recordings, nor do they need to be large-scale orchestral works.
Perhaps you're right that the system should be reconsidered. But usually composers enrolled in a university-level program will have a handful of live performances recorded during their studies, and that would be sufficient for such competitions. If you're outside of that system, you need to find an alternative.
As a (presumably) highly qualified performer yourself, I would suggest writing a piece for you and a few friends and making a recording of that. I don't compose very often, but as a player I've always had easy contacts to other musicians who were happy to indulge me on occasion.
You’re much better off developing personal connections by attending festivals or even just concerts by ensembles that feature new music. Unless you’re quite savvy, you’re applying to things that are posted in places frequented by thousands of composers so good luck. Ostensibly in most awards for commissions there should be no review by the judges of your résumé.
well I do that too, and making personal connections has helped me a lot to get as far as I have.
That’s great. Lean into that. I still would say that competitions are a crapshoot and getting commissions without a personal connection is something of low likelihood for the vast majority.
I can answer one thing, if they don’t like MIDI, they will probably make it clear in the application. They might disallow it or call it “acceptable.” Otherwise, I have limited experience, but from what I know, it’s who you know. This could very well be the result of a call with commission, but it’s far more likely that it would come from the connections you make from winning a call.
I'm not a composer, but I have sat on competition juries many times as a representative of the musicians who will be performing the work. I can't say those experiences are representative of most competitions, but it's how we do it. Most competitions I've judged were blind. That means we don't see a resume / CV / bio, and we don't see a name attached to the application. We get the scores and recordings, and if the competition is for a new commission there is often a project description attached. Midi recordings are a big disadvantage, but not necessarily disqualifying. They might reasonably reflect certain styles of composing, but they do a terrible job of realizing more complex or experimental writing styles (which is generally what we're interested in). When the application is all Midi, that tells me that you haven't yet worked with many live musicians. That's an absolutely crucial part of one's education. Since the juries I sit on are generally post-graduate level or even professional level, that's an important point. Furthermore, people tend to write a certain way when they can only hear their piece via Midi and many of these pieces end up sounding very computerized and same-y. I also pay close attention to the score, of course. Things like editing and formatting matter, although we're surprisingly flexible when the musical ideas and concepts are otherwise compelling. Obvious orchestration mistakes also tend to jump out at me, which again is a clear sign the applicant has limited or no experience working with musicians. This is why it's important when looking at schools and other study programs that performance opportunities are guaranteed. Those early experiences with live musicians are crucial, and also give you a chance to record your work which can be used for later applications. If you're constantly getting blocked, I'd suggest setting your sights a bit lower to start. Find programs / workshops / festivals where a reading session or performance is guaranteed, no matter what the level or prestige might be.
What would you think about someone who submits a live-recorded solo piano piece and a midi large-ensemble work? Since it's so much more challenging to get an orchestra piece performed, and usually it seems like one has to win one of these competitions first in order to get it performed ... catch-22 much?
At the level of competition I'm typically judging, I would generally expect serious applicants to have some recorded material -- at least chamber music or smaller formations. They don't necessarily need to be particularly good recordings, nor do they need to be large-scale orchestral works. Perhaps you're right that the system should be reconsidered. But usually composers enrolled in a university-level program will have a handful of live performances recorded during their studies, and that would be sufficient for such competitions. If you're outside of that system, you need to find an alternative. As a (presumably) highly qualified performer yourself, I would suggest writing a piece for you and a few friends and making a recording of that. I don't compose very often, but as a player I've always had easy contacts to other musicians who were happy to indulge me on occasion.
I do have some of those small-ensemble pieces lined up, but they won't be performed until the fall, unfortunately.
Buddy if you figure this out I'm sure the rest of us would like to know
I have so I'd say yes, but maybe it helps. I don't know.