Ossia New Music | A Musical Alternative

Ossia, the Eastman School of Music's student-run contemporary music organization, is pleased to announce a call for scores for its 2008 Ossia International Composition Prize. Ossia received over sixty submissions from four continents in response to its first call for scores in 2007. Steve Wanna's winning work, Abeyance, was premiered by Ossia in April 2008. Now in its twelfth season, Ossia continues to take pride in its production of high-quality performances of a broad spectrum of music composed in the past one hundred years.

The winning composition of the 2008 Ossia International Composition Prize will be performed on the final concert of Ossia's 2008-9 concert season, March 27, 2009, in Kilbourn Hall at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. The winning composer will also receive a cash award of 500.00 USD.

Composers of all ages and nationalities are encouraged to apply. There is no entry fee. Eastman students and alumni who graduated after 2002 are not eligible to participate.

The 2008-9 Ossia production board, a team of composers, performers, theorists and musicologists, will evaluate all submissions and select the winning entry.

All applications must be complete and received by December 15, 2008. The winning entry will be announced by February 1, 2009.

2008 Ossia International Composition Prize
Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs Street
Rochester, NY 14604
United States.

Works of any style, aesthetic and notation will be accepted.
Eastman students and alumni who graduated after 2002 are not eligible to participate.
The work must not exceed fifteen minutes in duration.
The instrumentation may include all or a subset of the following: one flute (doubling piccolo, alto flute), one oboe (doubling English horn), one clarinet (doubling E-flat clarinet or bass clarinet), one saxophone, one bassoon, one horn, one trumpet, one trombone, one tuba, percussion for one player, one keyboard, one harp, one guitar, two violins, one viola, one cello, one double bass, one vocalist, tape, CD or interactive electronics. The work may also call for an "unusual" (e.g. folk, traditional, rare) instrument. In such a case, the composer must provide both the performer and the unusual instrument for all rehearsals and the performance of the piece. Ossia cannot assume any expenses for this performer or instrument (e.g. travel, accommodation, per diem, insurance).
Only one entry per composer will be accepted.
Works may have been performed previously, although works that have not been performed or with a limited performance history are preferred. Please include performance history, if applicable, with your submission.
Any information indicating or suggesting the name or affiliation of the composer must not appear anywhere on the entry work.
Please do not submit recordings.
All entries must be submitted by post. Hand-delivered entries will not be accepted.
All entries must be received by December 15, 2008, regardless of postmark.
Submissions that are incomplete or that do not conform to one of more of the aforementioned rules and guidelines will not be considered under any circumstance.
A jointly written work will be considered a single entry. If the winning work has been written jointly, all prize money will be paid in equal shares to all authors.
The decision of the Ossia production board will be final. The board reserves the right to decline to award a prize.

For more information, please contact Elizabeth Kelly, Ossia Public Relations Director, at