IMTA/ICF 2020 Commisioning Project (November 1, 2019)

IOWA MUSIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION / IOWA COMPOSERS FORUM 2020 COMMISSIONING PROJECT

The winner of the 2020 Iowa Music Teachers Association Commissioning Project will be commissioned to write a concert piece for solo piano at the intermediate level, approximately 8 minutes in length. The prize will include a $1500 commissioning fee ($750 from Music Teachers National Association, MTNA and $750 from Iowa Music Teachers Association, IMTA)

The new composition will be premiered at the 2020 IMTA State Conference on the first weekend of June. In addition, the Iowa Composers Forum will provide a $250 honorarium for the performer. The work should be written so as to be playable by an intermediate-level pianist. Representative works at this level include the “Little Piano Book” by Persichetti and “Twenty-four Little Pieces” by Kabalevsky.

ELIGIBILITY : Composers who are currently enrolled in or employed by a college or university in the State of Iowa, or composers who are members of the Iowa Composers Forum on January 1, 2019, or U. S. composers
with ties to Iowa are eligible to apply, except those who have been the recipient of a commission by the IMTA within the past five years. The winning composer will be required to join the Iowa Composers Forum if he/she is not already a member.

HOW TO ENTER THE IMTA/IOWA COMPOSERS FORUM 2020 COMPOSER COMPETITION :

Please submit a score and recording of one representative work for intermediate musicians, preferably with piano; live recordings are preferable, but MIDI realizations are acceptable. Please send electronic copies of the score (PDF) and recording (mp3) to the following address: imtacommissioning@gmail.com In addition, each composer should include in his or her cover letter a brief proposal of the planned piece. Please direct any questions to the chair of the IMTA commissioning committee: Dr. Richard Steinbach, Professor of Piano, Briar Cliff University imtacommissioning@gmail.com

The scores and recordings will be submitted to a selection committee consisting of at least one composer and one performer. The selection committee will not be given the names of the composers who are
submitting scores and recordings for consideration. We feel strongly that this competition should be anonymous. Therefore, identify your piece only in your email message, but NOT on the electronic recording or score. To restate, it is the responsibility of each composer to submit his/her score and recording without any identifying information. Thank you.

TIMETABLE FOR THE IMTA/IOWA COMPOSERS FORUM 2020 COMPOSER COMPETITION :

➢ November 1, 2019: The anonymous sample score and recording must be submitted electronically to the email address given above.
➢ December 1, 2019: The winner will be announced.
➢ April 1, 2020: The completed commissioned work must be presented to the chair of the IMTA Commissioning Committee.
➢ June 2020 (1 st weekend): The commissioned work will be premiered at the IMTA State Conference, location TBA.
➢ October 2020: The winner of the IMTA/ICF Composer Competition will serve as a judge for the 2020 IMTA/ICF Composer Competition.