Competition rules

The Orfeó Català announces the 4th International Choral Music Composition Contest Orfeó Català to promote new Catalan and international choral compositions, suitable for both amateur and professional choirs.

The final verdict will be announced publicly in summer of 2023.

The awarded works will be premiered during the Festa de la Música Coral that will take place March 3rd 2024, at the Palau de la Música Catalana. The Festa de la Música Coral, organized by the Orfeó Català and with the essential collaboration of the FCEC (Catalan Choral Federation), has the objectives of supporting new choral works on a global scale, and at the same time, recovering and promoting the heritage of Catalan choral music.

The Festa de la Música Coral, organized by the Orfeó Català, is inspired in a musical event that took place between 1904 and 1922, called Festa de la Música Catalana. The Festa was also conceptually similar and as prestigious as the Catalan “Jocs Florals”, a poetry contest organized by the city of Barcelona.

Contestants

The 4th International Choral Music Competition Orfeó Català is opened to everyone with no age limit and without any registration fee.

Categories and contest regulations

A1. Choral Music Composition for mixed voices with a maximum duration of twelve minutes and a maximum of eight voices (+ specific divisi).

A2. Choral Music Composition for equal voices (female choir) with a maximum duration of seven minutes and a maximum of four voices (+ specific divisi).

A3. Choral Music Composition for children's voices (treble voices) with a maximum duration of five minutes and a maximum of three voices (+ specific divisi).

• Works must be original, not premiered and not previously awarded before at any other competition. Arranged or adapted versions of previous works by the same author and which have been already released or published won’t be accepted.
• Works already submitted on more than two times prior to the same competition will not be accepted.
• Works can be a cappella or have up to three accompanying instruments.

Candidats

Works and the registration form for the 4th International Choral Music Competition Orfeó Català must be sent online before January 31, 2023. (CLIC HERE).

The requirements to participate in the Composition Contest are as follows:

• Fill in the participation application form.
• Attach a copy of the work in digital PDF format.
• Send a MIDI file of the work (MP3 format) or video (MP4, WMV, AVI format) will be valued.

Presentation

Each composition must be submitted with numbered pages. They must be legible, clear, without mistakes or amendments.

The front page of each work will show only the “Title”, a “Pseudonym” (which will replace the real name of the author), and the category in which the work fits in.

Composers can register for both competitions and can submit up to two works per category. Any work that has been presented at the same time as the FCEC’s X International Choral Composition Awards held in parallel with this competition will not be admitted (download here the bases).

It is necessary to fill out a registration form for EACH work presented.

More information: [email protected]

The Jury

The jury of this 4th edition will consist of the following international renown conductors and composers:

Pablo Larraz, director of the ’Orfeó Català. President of the Jury

Buia Reixach i Feixes, Director of the Cor de noies de l’Orfeó Català

Isabel Mantecón, Director of the Cor de Cambra de la Diputació de Girona

Marc Timón, Composer

Ferran Cruixent, Composer

Awards

The jury will select a winner in each category. Nevertheless, the jury could decide not to award a prize in one or more categories if none of the works submitted meet all the quality requirements.

Verdict

Jury deliberations and the selection of the winners will take place in a private meeting at the Palau de la Música Catalana. The verdict will be announced to the public in July 2023. The results will be communicated individually to the winners and posted in the Palau de la Música Catalana and FCEC Websites, as well as in the magazines “Revista Musical Catalana”, “A quatre veus” and “Europa Cantat” and in the “International Choral Bulletin” of the International Federation of Choral Music.

Prizes

- Best Choral Music Composition for mixed voices “Maria Font de Carilla”: 2.500 €

- Best Choral Music Composition for equal voices: 1.000 €

- Best Choral Music Composition for children's voices: 1.000 €

- Special mention for the best work with a Catalan text: 500 €

The selected works will be published by the FCEC and will be premiered at the Festa de la Música Coral, event that will be recorded for the radio station Catalunya Música.

The official proclamation of the verdict will take place in the extraordinary closing concert of the cycle.

Publishing rights

The Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Catalana Foundation and the FCEC will have the exclusive publishing rights of the winning works for a period of ten years from the date of the verdict. This does not affect the property rights, which belong to the author in all other effects.

The Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Catalana Foundation reserves the right to keep one of the copies of the works for its own archives. The works that are not requested back within the time limit, may be distributed by the FCEC and Orfeó Català unless the author expresses in writing his/her unwillingness of allowing such distribution.

Understanding and accepting the competition rules

Participating in these competitions implies the acceptance of their rules. Their interpretation and any other unforeseeable matter not covered by them will be resolved by the organization, after consulting with the jury if necessary.