SCI/ASCAP Student Composition Commission

Unlike the SCI/SESAC competition SCI used to administer, these series of awards will differ in several ways. There will be two sets of juries: one at the regional level, and one at the national. Such a format will take advantage of the structure naturally inherent in our organization, and use the conferences as conduits for student activities. From each regional adjudication, three composers' works will be sent to the national conference for a second and final round of adjudication. All three finalists will compose a work to be premiered at the national conference the following year, and will work closely with that host and local performers in setting up the instrumentation and other parameters and expectations. It was also felt that rather than giving only financial compensation to the winners, SCI would pay for the cost of having the three winners placed on the SCI CD series. Additionally, the first place winner will be published in the SCI Journal of Music Scores.

In each case, the juries will be made up of three senior SCI members, chosen in consultation with the host and the coordinator of the competition. Every effort will be made to minimize stylistic biases and keep the final selection as objective as possible.

While there is no upper age limit on students entering this competition, we suspect most entrants will be in some kind of a composition program at the college/university level. Nevertheless, students who are studying privately with a composer but not enrolled in a degree program can enter as well. We will keep track of the number of applicants in this category.

Finally, it is hoped that the number of student chapters will increase thanks to this competition. Our students are the future of this organization, and we will support them to the fullest extent possible.

David Gompper