Call for Pieces
Impossible Brilliance: The Music Of Conlon Nancarrow
We have a number of interesting opportunities for composers to
write short pieces for the festival. Please note that composers are
welcome to submit multiple pieces and we will try to include
as many as possible.
If you have any queries please contact Steve Gisby at s.gisby@trinitylaban.ac.uk
- Conloninpurple
- 12 Speakers
- "Stings" for the London
Sinfonietta
- Electronic "stings" using samples
of Nancarrow's own player piano
1.
Conloninpurple:
The celebrated sound artist and kinetic sculptor known simply as
Trimpin will be installing his room-sized installation dedicated to
Nancarrow entitled Conloninpurple in the foyer of the
Queen Elizabeth Hall. The work is a five-octave MIDI controlled
marimba, suspended in ten groups above the audiences head.
During the festival this installation will play a selection of
Nancarrow pieces plus new compositions. We are inviting composers
to create pieces that will be played a number of times during the
weekend.
- Duration: between 1 and 5 minutes
- Pitch range: C0 (MIDI note 24) chromatically to B4 (MIDI note
83)
- Dynamic range: MIDI velocity 50 (quietest) to 75 (loudest)
- Fastest note repetition: 1/32 notes at 120bpm
- Submission format: either a Logic, Ableton Live or Max/MSP
file, or it can simply be a standard MIDI file
- Submission
information
- Deadline: 2nd April, 2012
For more information about the installation see:
2. 12
Speakers:
There will be a twelve-channel Genelec system arranged in a line
in the Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer. This will play 12 channel
versions of Nancarrow works plus new compositions. We are inviting
composers to create pieces which will be played a number of times
during the weekend. We would welcome pieces that combine this
system and the Conloninpurple installation, which will be located
next to it.
- Duration: between 1 and 5 minutes
- Submission format: either a Logic, Ableton Live or
Max/MSP file plus all relevant audio files, or 12 mono audio files
of identical duration
- Submission
information
- Deadline: 2nd April, 2012
3. "Stings" for the London
Sinfonietta:
On the evening of 21st
April the London Sinfonietta will play a concert featuring
Nancarrow chamber works plus new and existing arrangements of his
Player Piano Studies. The first piece in the programme will be
Study #21 or Canon X. This consists of a slow voice accelerating to
"heroic" speeds plus a simultaneous fast voice decelerating. We are
seeking 100 new miniature works or 'stings' inspired by Nancarrow
that will be published on the internet as a metaphorical countdown
to the concert. These stings will range from 30" to 1" in length,
with the final cluster of them being played at the concert leading
up to the first notes of #21.
40 of these stings will be recorded by a quartet from the London
Sinfonietta and we invite composers to send in one or more works to
be considered.
- Duration: either 20 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds or 1
second
- Instrumentation: clarinet (Bb), marimba (4 1/3 octave),
violin, cello
- Submission format: pdf files of score and parts
- Submission
Information
- The pieces will be conducted
- Deadline: 2nd April, 2012
While the players are obviously some of the finest around, there
will be very limited time to rehearse and record so bear this in
mind.
4. Electronic "stings" using samples of
Nancarrow's own player piano:
The 60 remaining "stings" will be made using samples of one of
Nancarrow's own player pianos recorded at the Paul Sacher
Foundation in Basel in 2011. Composers are invited to use the
samples in any way they wish. They are available
here as separate audio
files and as a Logic ESX24 sample instrument with the samples tuned
to A440.
- Duration: either 30 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds or 1
second
- Submission format: stereo files, either aiff, wav or mp3
- Submission
information
- Deadline: 2nd April, 2012
Submission
Information
Please submit completed files electronically to s.gisby@trinitylaban.ac.uk
using Yousendit, Dropbox, posting them on a server for download or
any other suitable method (please do not try and email files over
5MB). Please include the following
with your submission:
- Name of piece
- Duration of piece
- Which of the four categories it is intended for
- Your name
- Your town and country of residence
- A picture of you
Composers will retain the copyright of the pieces but the
organisers of the event reserve the right to use the pieces for
purposes of documentation and publicity.
This page was updated on: 21/02/2012
