Compose and be heard!
Do you feel that your cultural identity is underrepresented in the choral composition field?
If so, join with us in “The Schola Cantorum Project” and be the difference!
Fort Worth Chorale is seeking composers like you to commission for a one-year project. We will make your composition available to a consortium of Title I middle schools for free, for that one-year period. If you are selected, you will receive $1000 for your selection (see Criteria section below), and it will be posted on a password-protected page on our website.
Title 1 middle school choir directors will contact us to join the annual consortium. They will then receive a password to download the piece, educational materials (including rehearsal tracks and the background on the piece), and rights to make copies for the choir to perform, record and display their performances - all free of charge!
You will be asked to create a short video, speaking to the student singers about your inspiration, instructions about the piece, or to give advice about becoming a composer. At the end of the one-year consortium cycle, we will take down your piece and make another piece available from a different composer. After your consortium cycle closes, you are free to do whatever you wish with the piece; we only ask that consortium members be allowed to continue using it under the same rules agreed upon during that season.
In the selection process, we hope to spotlight composers of diverse and underrepresented cultures. We want students to see themselves reflected not only in the music itself, but also in the field of composition and creation, perhaps looking at that possibility for their own future career paths.
We look forward to having our Composer Selection Panel receive your application to be a part of this new and exciting educational outreach together. You may view the application at any time but the submission process will open on Jan 15, 2024 and close on July 15, 2024. Prospective candidates will be contacted for an interview. All applicants will receive notification of the Panel’s decision no later than Aug 5, 2024 when a contractual agreement will be signed between the awarded composer and FWC/SCP for the purpose of creating the consortium. The composer will then have about eight months to prepare and submit the composition for the 2025-2026 season consortium.
COMPOSITION CRITERIA SUMMARY
Once selected, the composer will create a piece with the following criteria:
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Length should be under five minutes, preferably with performance time between two and four minutes.
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Compositions should target the middle school age choral ensembles (though some high school training choirs may also choose to perform it), with those students’ educational and social development in mind.
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Compositions should be appropriate for the vocal range and tessitura of middle school age group.
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Compositions will be original, previously unpublished, with all source materials and lyrics either in the public domain or sole property of the composer (supply appropriate permissions, if applicable).
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Compositions may be accompanied or a cappella (with vocal reduction), with lyrics translation and diction guide, if applicable.
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Voicing must be provided in both SA and TB settings, with consideration of appropriate keys for each.
For more guidelines for writing for SCP, click here.
Contractual agreement will be signed and submitted by composer no later than August 30, 2024, giving him/her around eight months to prepare and submit the composition for the 2025-26 season consortium. View a copy of the contract here.
We look forward to having our Composer Selection Panel receive your Composer Application so that we can begin this new and exciting educational outreach together. Just click the application link and submit!
Thank you for reading about our project! If you have questions or would like to help us spread the word in some way, please send an email to our Executive Director Michelle Gibson.