ad libitum 2011 englisch - NAPEX

Winfried Böhler Cultural Foundation
Composition Competition
Contemporary Music for Amateur or Semiprofessional
Orchestras, Ensembles and
Soloists
Preliminary Notes
The contemporary repertoire for amateurs or young musicians is very limited. The few works available are
often technically too difficult, the instrumentation is inappropriate or not flexible enough.
The Winfried Böhler Cultural Foundation would like to help make an attractive, playable repertoire of
artistically high quality, contemporary music of all genres available to children, young people and adult
amateurs.
As part of their initiative, the composition competition “ad libitum 2011”, the Winfried Böhler Cultural
Foundation is offering prizes for compositions. The challenge of the compositions lies in combining a high
quality which is musically demanding, flexibility in the instrumentation and technical practicability for
amateurs or semi-professionals.
The Winfried Böhler Foundation was founded in 2003 and has been involved with social relief projects,
development aid, child and youth welfare, and cultural art projects for several years. Because of this
network of activities, the foundation is also an important contact for artists and cultural institutions in the
Stuttgart area, including Netzwerk Süd. In 2007, to further support these activities, Winfried Böhler founded
the Winfried Böhler Cultural Foundation which is running the composition competition “ad libitum” and
offering the composition prizes.
Criteria
The only criteria for the selection of a piece by the jury are the quality of the composition and the
practicability for amateurs or semi-professional orchestras and ensembles. Pieces of all different types,
solos, chamber music, choral works, pieces for ensembles and orchestral works for all ages will be
welcomed. The length should not exceed 15 minutes.
Flexibility of instrumentation is important, especially in the large scale works. Hardly any amateur groups,
whether a school orchestra or amateur choir, have a balanced group of participants. Often there is an
imbalance in particular instrument groups, for example in the woodwind section or the strings (an excess of
flutes and clarinets or violins respectively), or a complete lack of certain instrument groups. Choirs often
lack tenors.

Since amateur musicians within a group often vary in ability level, it may be advisable to vary the difficulty
level for different parts, for example the first violin part could be more difficult than the second violin part.
Variable instrumentation is therefore an advantage, especially when the instruments can be substituted by
others according to the circumstances within the group.
More demanding solo parts are possible, as is the use of ad hoc performances by musicians not bound to
any one instrument.
Jury, Rehearsal and Performance
A Jury judges the submitted works and awards prizes with a total value of €12,000.
The prize-winning pieces are planned to be performed in 2011 by selected amateur or semi-professional
orchestras and ensembles as part of the events calendar of Musik der Jahrhunderte/Netzwerk Süd in
various venues around the Stuttgart area. The programming is the responsibility of Musik der
Jahrhunderte/Netzwerk Süd.
Application
1. Only one entry per composer will be accepted.
2. Submissions made by publishers and agents must be accompanied by the written consent of the
composer.
3. All submissions must include the following:
a. Three copies of the score
b. A short biography of the composer in German or English (max. 3,000 characters)
c. Postal and email addresses of the composer (Link to a personal website or Link to the
publisher/agent, if available)
d. A recording of the work (Audio-CD, mp3 or wav-Files), if available
e. Commentary on the work in German or English (max. 4,000 characters)
f. Year of composition and length of the work
g. All the necessary information and documentation for the jury (e.g. recordings, system
descriptions, technical requirements, list of equipment)
4. The closing date is 15 th December 2010 (postmark)
5. Applications should be sent to:
Netzwerk Süd c/o Musik der Jahrhunderte, Siemensstraße 13, D-70469 Stuttgart
6. The performance material (score and parts) should be provided by the composer until March 2011.
7. All applications will be handled with great care. However, the organiser holds no responsibility for any
losses or damage caused to the submitted material.
8. The submitted material will not be returned unless expressly requested. Postal charges will not be
accepted.
Submissions which do not fulfil these conditions will not be considered.