The New England Philharmonic Calls for Scores for 2016 Competition

The New England Philharmonic under the direction of Richard Pittman is now accepting scores for their 31st Annual Call for Scores Competition. The winning score will be performed by the NEP during the 2016-17 season.

The winner of the 2015 competition, "Spectre of the Spheres" by David Hertzberg, was chosen from 133 entries from 22 countries, more than twice the number of applications received in recent past. The piece will be performed at the NEP's April 30 concert "From the Seas to the Heavens."

"The quality of submissions was the highest since I've started overseeing the NEP call for scores," said NEP's Composer-in-Residence, David Rakowski who has presided over the judging for the last four years. "The six finalists were all excellent works."

Since 1985, the New England Philharmonic has been one of few orchestras of its size in the country with a Composer-in-Residence program that holds an annual Call for Scores competition, receiving dozens of submissions from around the world. By presenting these new works in the context of pieces by established composers -- including classics of the symphonic repertory -- the New England Philharmonic demonstrates that orchestral music is not a finished collection of museum pieces, but a living, evolving tradition. This approach has won the orchestra excellent reviews and wide recognition, including nine national awards for programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and one of the first grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for new music.

For complete details and to submit an application, click here or go to nephilharmonic.org/competitions/call-for-scores. Applications and all materials (including $40 application fee) must be submitted electronically by April 1, 2016. Scores and recordings should be uploaded via a Dropbox link.

Now performing its 39th season, the New England Philharmonic (NEP), under the direction of Richard Pittman, is internationally renowned for its creative programming encompassing both contemporary and traditional works. The volunteer orchestra has earned nine ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming and was included in The Arts Fuse's top 10 list of notable classical music performances of 2015. The orchestra's illustrious past includes the installation of three landmark programs. The NEP became the first orchestra of its size to support a Composer-in-Residence (1985), introduce a Call for Scores Program (1985), and a Young Artist Competition (1994), legacies that endure today.