CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

PREAMBLE

Under the name “Rychenberg Competition”, the Musikkollegium Winterthur is holding an international composing competition. The current edition has the topic “Compositions based on visual concepts” and is being organised in collaboration with the Fotomuseum Winterthur.

The “Rychenberg Competition” is being made possible by the Lottery Fund of the Canton of Zurich.

1. PARTICIPATION

Participation

1.1. ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE
Composers of any age and nationality are eligible to participate.

1.2. SPECIFICATIONS OF THE WORK
The Rychenberg Competition will award prizes to new works for orchestra that have not yet been performed.
The orchestration must be oriented on the instrumental forces of the Musikkollegium Winterthur.
The maximum number of instruments permissible is:
2*-2*-2*-2*; 4-2-3-0; timpani; percussion (1 player); strings (8-6-5-5-3)
*= the second player also plays piccolo/cor anglais/bass clarinet/contrabassoon respectively

It is possible to write for a smaller ensemble (but with a minimum of 12 players).
Percussion out of the available instruments according to the list.

The work should last at least 12 minutes and no more than 20 minutes.
The work must refer to one of the prescribed visual concepts (photo series).
The photo series on which the work is based must be communicated at the latest when the score is delivered (deadline: 31 March 2019).

1.3. REGISTRATION FEE
A fee of CHF 90 is payable on registration.
This registration fee must be paid by 31 July 2018 at the latest.

1.4. DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED
The following documents must be submitted upon registration:

  • Online registration form, completed in full
  • Brief biography, with photo

2. DATES AND DEADLINES

Dates and Deadlines

31 July 2018 – Deadline for registration and for paying the registration fee

31 March 2019 – Submission of the score (5 hard copies)

31 May 2019 – Announcement of the compositions nominated (maximum of ten)

31 July 2019 – Submission of the orchestral parts and resubmission of the score (if reworked in the meantime)

End of August 2019 – Recording of the nominated works by the Musikkollegium Winterthur

October 2019 – The recorded works will be placed online for the audience vote

31 March 2020 – Announcement of the jury’s nominations and the result of the audience vote

6 September 2020 – The composers whose works are chosen will travel to Winterthur; beginning of rehearsals for the Prize Winners’ Concert

9 September 2020 – Prize Winners’ Concert in Winterthur

3. COMPETITION PROCEDURE

Competition Procedure

3.1. SELECTION OF THE NOMINATED WORKS
The scores submitted will be anonymised for their initial evaluation by the jury. The jury will nominate ten works that will be recorded by the Musikkollegium Winterthur in an initial round (without any public performance). These recordings will be placed online for the public to vote on them. From these ten works, the jury will choose those to be performed in the Prize Winners’ Concert in June 2020. One work will be determined by the votes of the public. This may be identical to one of the works chosen by the jury. The nominated works (at least four, at most five) will be performed in public at the Prize Winners’ Concert. The jury will determine the order of prizes at the Prize Winners’ Concert.

3.2. INVITATION TO THE COMPOSERS SELECTED
The composers whose works are nominated for the Prize Winners’ Concert will be invited to Winterthur. They may attend the final rehearsals and the Concert and participate in the associated events. The Competition will pay the travel costs (economy flight or second-class train ticket) and the hotel accommodation for the composer and one accompanying person, along with a daily allowance of CHF 200 per day.

3.3. PERFORMANCE OF THE WORKS
The works nominated for the Prize Winners’ Concert will be performed by the Musikkollegium Winterthur at a public general rehearsal and in the Concert. The prize winners are invited to explain their works in an introduction or in conversation.

3.4 PRIZE MONEY
The ten composers whose works are selected for the first round of the Competition (the recording) will be given a recognition prize of CHF 1,000.
The composers whose works are chosen to be performed at the Prize Winners’ Concert will be awarded the following prizes:

First place: CHF 40,000

Second place: CHF 25,000

Third place: CHF 15,000

Jury’s special prize: CHF 5,000

Audience prize: CHF 10,000

The abovementioned prizes include the recognition prize money of CHF 1,000.
The prize money is awarded without any deduction of taxes.

4. FURTHER PROVISIONS

Further Provisions

By registering, participants expressly give permission for an audiovisual recording of their work to be made and placed online on the Internet for purposes of the public vote. They also give permission for an audiovisual recording of the Prize Winners’ Concert and for this to be broadcast on the radio.

A score and the parts of the work will be deposited in the archive of the Musikkollegium Winterthur.

Any matters not covered by the above regulations will be determined by the Rychenberg Competition at its own discretion. In special, well-founded cases, the Rychenberg Competition may also decide to make exceptions to the above regulations. Any legal action is precluded.