Steven Gerber Project Call For Scores 2022-2023
C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, a New York City-based new music chorus, invites composers, especially BIPoC composers, to submit unperformed choral works with a conceptual connection to William Shakespeare, to be performed on C4’s spring 2023 concert in New York City.
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As part of an ongoing collaboration with the Steven R. Gerber Trust, C4 will be performing Steven Gerber’s Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought, a setting of five Shakespearean sonnets (9, 30, 71, 129 and 130). To foster new music, the Gerber Trust is providing support for one or two new pieces to be performed as part of the same concert. Additionally, there will be a dedicated recording session leading to high-quality recordings of both Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought and the accompanying piece or pieces.

A $1,500 prize will be awarded for each selected piece. Additionally, a travel stipend of up to $500 is available for out-of-town composers who wish to attend the premiere.

Pieces to be considered should be about 4 to 10 minutes in length (these are not hard limits), and should not have been performed previously in public. They should tie into the theme of Shakespeare and his sonnets, but composers are free to experiment with the exact connection, anything from setting another (or even the same) sonnet, to examining what Shakespeare does and does not signify to the modern observer, and beyond. The composer must be able to show that they have rights to the text, if any.

All are welcome to apply (except composers who have performed with C4 within the last five years). We are particularly interested in supporting BiPOC composers. There is no application fee, but composers should submit only one work.  The deadline for submission is January 31, 2023. The winners will be announced by March 31, 2023. The concert will take place in May or June, 2023.

C4 is a 20- to 25-voice mixed chorus. We welcome adventurous vocal writing, but due to the unpredictability of COVID, we prefer pieces with no more than 6-part divisi. We prefer a cappella works.

We expect to select one or two pieces. C4 reserves the right not to select a piece, but hopefully that will not happen.

You may submit online by filling out our online submission form, or by emailing gerber-competition@c4ensemble.org. Please submit a PDF of the score, and confirmation of your rights to the text, if any. An audio file is encouraged; it can be a computer rendition of the piece. We also strongly encourage a biography of up to 350 words. Judging will not be anonymous. If anonymity is important, we encourage you to apply to one of our regular commissioning competitions.

Feel free to contact us at gerber-competition@c4ensemble.org with any questions. Thanks; we look forward to seeing your work!

LEGALESE

We don’t want our performance of your work to be a barrier to the future of the piece, and we also want to avoid any misunderstandings. The following applies to works selected by the group: C4 reserves the exclusive right to first performance through June 2024, and the exclusive right to first commercial recording for one year past the first performance. C4 reserves the right to record performances of the Work, in both audio and video formats. C4 reserves the right to future performances of the Work without further direct payment to the Composer. The Composer will own the copyright to the Work. The Composer retains the right to publish the Work, or to seek publication by a third party. The Composer retains the right to collect royalties for the Work. The Composer is not an employee of the C4, and the Work is not a “work for hire” as defined under current copyright law. All rights to the Work not specified above are granted to the Composer.

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE

C4 exists to enrich artists and audiences alike, through passionate advocacy of new choral works, performing pieces written within the last 25 years, premiering and commissioning new choral works, and mentoring emerging singers, composers, and conductors of today's choral music. C4 is a 24-voice ensemble collectively run by its members, and is one of the few choruses in America dedicated exclusively to performing contemporary music. C4 performs adventurous contemporary programming at a professional level, with stipends to its members making it a semi-professional ensemble. In addition to presenting the music of its own composer members, C4 programs the music of other emerging composers along with that of more established composers, filling an important niche in the cultural life of New York City.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact gerber-competition@c4ensemble.org!