2020 Call for Scores

2020 HEAR NOW Music Festival

Deadline: October 22, 2019

Festival dates: April 23rd, 24th, 30th, May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 2020.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

Open to Los Angeles area-based composers. If you are writing contemporary, classical concert music, you live and work primarily in Los Angeles, and you have not had a work presented by Hear Now in 2018 and 2019, you are eligible to submit one work in any two of following categories:

Orchestral

To be performed by the UCLA Philharmonia. The basic instrumentation of the UCLA Philharmonia is:

  • WW (3333 + standard auxiliary instruments)
  • Brass (5331)
  • harp (2), piano (2)
  • Timp + 5
  • Strings (12-10-9-9-6)

Acoustic Chamber Music and Vocal Ensemble

  • No more than 8 players (fewer if possible)
  • No more than 15 minutes in length.
  • All combinations of voice, strings, woodwinds and brass will be available. We will have a piano.
  • A small percussion setup is possible.
  • Vocal ensemble parts include soprano, mezzo, tenor/counter-tenor (2), baritone, bass.

Electroacoustic music – in collaboration with People Inside Electronics (PIE)

  • In addition to the electronic element, 1-6 players can be used. The core ensemble for this concert consists of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (limited setup), though other instruments can be included as well.
  • Electronics can be live or fixed media. In addition to other materials, a detailed description of technical requirements must be provided with the application.
  • No more than 15 minutes in length.

ANONYMITY APPLIES ONLY TO YOUR SOUND FILES AND YOUR SCORE.

For all submissions, make sure that your sound files and pdf of the score do not have your name on them, and are ANONYMOUS. Non-anonymous sound files and scores cannot be considered.

Send emails from your regular email account- please do not use a pseudonym account.

Please send the following NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 22, 2019 to hearnowcomposersfestival@gmail.com :Please use the subject line: HEAR NOW SUBMISSION 2020

  • ANONYMOUS Score in PDF format
  • ANONYMOUS mp3 audio samples (MIDI acceptable). Please send files which do not show composer/performer/album info when opened in iTunes. Mp3 files without watermarks help us maintain anonymity. Please do not send links to recordings on websites such as SoundCloud, YouTube or your personal website

If your sound files are too large to be attached to an email please send them via Hightail or Dropbox, or a comparable email service.

FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS please also send the following confidential information in a separate email to: hearnowcomposersfestival@gmail.com with the subject line HEAR NOW SUBMISSION 2020 INFO. (Please send this information as regular email and not part of your Hightail, Dropbox, Yousendit, Wetransfer, etc. — large file services, and send from your regular email address.) Your name and email address are essential for us to code and track your anonymous audio and score.

  • The name of your piece
  • your name and contact info, including home address
  • instrumentation
  • duration
  • any other (brief) information about the piece you would like to share (Will it be a premiere of any kind? Are there stand-alone movements? Recommended local musicians for difficult or thorny parts, etc.)
  • Please include the statement: I agree to request and receive permission from all musicians performing my work for the Hear Now Music Festival before posting the recording publicly in any form.*

Submissions may have been performed before, and multi-movement works are acceptable. If you have any questions, please contact Artistic Director Hugh Levick or General Manager Heidi Lesemann at the above email address.

PERFORMANCES:

The 2020 Hear Now Music Festival will be held April 23rd, 24th, 30th May 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2020. In addition to performances by Lyris Quartet (founding ensemble of Hear Now), Brightwork newmusic (ensemble-in-residence for the electroacoustic concert), UCLA Philharmonia, Neal Stulberg Music Director and Conductor, plus other first-rate musicians in the Los Angeles area. Hear Now is pleased that the outstanding vocal ensemble, HEX, joins our roster and provides an opportunity for composers to submit works for vocal ensemble.

Lyris Quartet
Brightwork newmusic
Hex Vocal Ensemble

HEX is an LA-based vocal ensemble that focuses on new, experimental music and theater. Founded in 2017, HEX is made up of members of the LA Master Chorale, C3LA, LA Choral Lab, and LA Opera.  The group is driven by pieces and projects that utilize musical storytelling, extended vocal techniques, extraordinary presentation, and improvisation.

UCLA Philharmonia

Read more about our review process: Here

We are very much looking forward to hearing your music!

*The HEAR NOW Music Festival is audio and video recorded, and, if your work is selected for the festival, the recordings are made available to you. By submitting your musical materials, you are agreeing to get a media release from all musicians who perform your work in the festival before posting it publicly in any form (YouTube, your website, etc.). You may submit a recording or video from the Hear Now Music Festival performance as documentation for a grant proposal, or to provide a sample to other musicians or organizations for future performances, which is for private use only, without having such permissions. You also understand that Hear Now may use your Festival recording for artistic documentation for grant proposals and in short (30-60 second) excerpts for promotional purposes without requiring your permission.