NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VIOLA SOCIETY’S 2024-25 International Viola Composition Contest (IVCC) The Northern California Viola Society announces its 2024-25 Composition Contest for unperformed, unrecorded
solo viola works, 3 minutes duration or under, composed in the last 5
years. The winning composition will be premiered by pre-professional
level finalists in the NCVS Young Violist Competition in San Francisco,
California, on March 9, 2025. There are typically 5-6 finalists, aged
19 and under with an advanced level of technical facility. Works should
reflect the ability level of the performers and offer contrasting
sections with both technical and emotional challenges. Preference given
to compositions originally written for viola, not transcriptions. No
tape, amplification or other accompaniment. Composers can be any age or
nationality.
NCVS presented a session on the 6 most recent compositions in June 2024 at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA for the American Viola Society Festival, with (from left-right) Katrina Wreede, Jennifer Hwang, Rebekah Sung, Colin Breshears, Michelle Koo, Pearl de la Motte, Sydney Whipple and Daria D'Andrea. YVC past prize winners performed the works below by Alischer Ikramutdinov, Dr. Andersen Viana, Dario Duarte, Andrew Wilson and Denise Ondishko.
Prize: $200
Deadline for submission: Oct 28, 2024
Winner and Runners-up announced: new date Dec 9, 2024
To Submit: Email your score PDF that includes date of composition and title but pseudonym for composer’s name to dmitri.yevstifeev@gmail.com.
In the email, include composer’s name, title of work and contact
information. Do not send mp3s, cover pages, bios, poems, images,
stories or anything not directly related to performing the work. All
submissions will be deleted after the judging. Past Composition Contest News and Links to works:
2023-24 Prize-winner: Baby Elephant Wandering Deep in Thought by Alischer Ikramutdinov of Vienna, Austria.
Written after an outing to the zoo with his young son, Baby Elephant is our winner this year. Mr Ikramutdinov is originally from Tashkent but makes his home in Vienna. He studied violin, flute, piano and guitar as well as composition and orchestral conducting. He currently is taking on international composition projects for theater, soloists and musical groups. Alischer has been writing music for symphony and wind orchestra, chamber groups, choir and solo instruments, including in pop and rock styles. Baby Elephant was composed in 2023 for the competition and we enjoyed hearing our young finalists take on this fun and imaginative piece for solo viola.
Many thanks to our composition panelists: Jodi Levitz, Ethan Filner, Tom Tatton, Ben Simon, Katrina Wreede and Daria D'Andrea
2022-23 Prize-winner: Cantilena for solo viola by Prof. Dr. Andersen Viana of Brazil Click here for link to purchase Cantilena sheet music from Theodore Front Music
Dr. Andersen Viana is a composer and professor at Clóvis Salgado Foundation in Belo Horizonte-Brazil. He began composing at the age of 13 and became a professor at the age of 19. He completed his PhD studies in composition at the Federal University of Bahia and furthered his studies at other institutions in Brazil, Italy and Sweden such as the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Reale Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, Arts Academy of Rome, Accademia Chigiana di Siena and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
Many
thanks to our panel of judges: Jodi Levitz, Hank
Dutt, Kevin Jim, Ethan Filner, Tom Tatton, Daria D’Andrea and Katrina
Wreede.
2021-22 Prize-winner: Micro Suite for Solo Viola, (link to purchase sheet music) by Dario Duarte of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dario Duarte graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the Universidad Nacional de San Martin and studied piano at the Alberto Ginastera Conservatory in Buenos Aires. In 2019 he composed his first opera SOMA, which was awarded by the Williams Foundation of Buenos Aires. His compositions include works for chamber ensemble, solo instruments and orchestra.
Dario currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina and teaches at the School of Humanities of the Universidad Nacional de San Martin and at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla.
Andrew Ahn performing Micro Suite
Composition finalists this year were (in alphabetical order):
Dream for Viola by Dr. Patricio Molina
Fantasieta by Prof. Dr. Andersen Viana
Furious by Jenna Colombet
La lune s’attristait. Des séraphins enpleurs rêvant by Andrew Haile Austin
Oak Branches by Blair Whittington
Teaser by Pablo Rubino
Transylvan by Mark Francis
About the 2020-21 competition
Over 70 pieces from all over the world were submitted in November to our assembled reviewing panel of violists. It was exciting to see the international offerings and the large number of submissions. The pieces we received demonstrated a huge range of creativity and musicality. We are deeply grateful to all of the composers who took the time to share their efforts with us. Please consider applying again next year.
2020-21 Winner, "Viola & Cesario" by Andrew M. Wilson
2020-2021 Finalist compositions were:
"Fantasy for Viola Solo" by Jake Gesell
"Autumn Leaves Dancing in the Wind” by Masao Yokoyama
“Listen to Viola” by Frank den Bakker
"Shadow Child Prelude” by Lawrence Kramer
“Lovely on the Water” by John Whittaker
“FortEtude” by Eleanor Aversa
“Requiem, in memoriam K. Penderecki” by Andreina Costantini
NCVS wishes to thank all the composers who entered and we can't wait for next year! Many thanks to our panel of violists for reviewing the entries: Ellen Ruth Rose, Hank Dutt, Jodi Levitz, Patricia Heller, Thomas Tatton, Katrina Wreede & Daria D'Andrea,
----------------------------------------------
The 86 works submitted in 2019 came from composers based in countries including: Indonesia, China, Russia, Iran, Argentina, Australia, Spain, Italy, UK, Ireland, France, Japan, Greece, Belgium, Israel, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the US.
The 2019-2020 finalist compositions were (in alphabetical order):
A Viking Farewell - Sarah Cattley
Cogitatio - Denise Ondishko (winner)
Dance for Solo Viola - Laura Paleari
Dolorondo - Wendy Davis
Étude - Lautaro Figueroa
Fabula - Maximiliano Garcia de Veas Gimena
Grasshopper - Milana Milosovic
One Evening in the Forest - Reina Yoshioka
Rite of Fire - Indra Persons
Threnody for a Skinned Cat - Gu Wei
Upon the Path of the Infinite - Girard Kratz
Whirling Dervish (from Balkan Pictures) - C. J. Kachulis
The Northern California Viola Society annually holds a Composition Contest for unperformed solo
viola works, 3 minutes or under, composed in the last 5 years. The
winning composition will be premiered by pre-professional level
finalists in the NCVS Young Violist Competition.
There are typically 5-6 finalists, aged 19 and under with an advanced
level of technical facility. Works should reflect the ability level of
the performers and offer contrasting sections with both technical and
emotional challenges. No tape, amplification or other accompaniment.
Composer is encouraged to record the online performances.
Prize: $100, performances by Young Viola Competition finalists and feature article on NCVS website.
Deadline for submission: annually in Fall
Winner and Runners-up announced: tbd annually in December
To Submit: Email your score PDF that includes date of composition and title but pseudonym for composer’s name to katrinawreede@gmail.com.
In the email, include composer’s name, title of work and contact
information. Do not send mp3s, cover pages, bios, poems, images,
stories or anything not directly related to performing the work. All
submissions will be deleted after the judging.