nief-norf Summer Festival Composition Fellow Workshop

The nief norf Summer Festival composition workshop offers an intensive experience in composing for percussion in the chamber music idiom. Offered concurrently with the performance and scholarship track of the festival, the workshop will provide fellows extensive interaction with the faculty, guest composers and artists, as well as opportunities for hands-on exploration of the large variety of percussion instruments available during the festival.

Composition fellows will compose one work under the mentorship of composition faculty Christopher Adler and Matthew Burtner, and will work with the performance faculty and fellows in the preparation of their work, which will be performed on the festival's "Cabaret Concert." Close interaction with performers will be an invaluable for those seeking to gain experience in writing for percussion, while more experienced composers will benefit from the relationships built with dedicated performers of contemporary music. The workshop will admit four to six composition fellows who will be present for the entire festival.

Composition fellows will benefit from the following activities:

  • Free admission to all festival activities, including rehearsals, coachings, presentations by guest artists and guest composers, and concerts.
  • Private composition lessons with composition faculty.
  • Opportunities for small-group interaction with guest composers and winners of the international Call for Scores competition.
  • Access to piano practice rooms.
  • Access to percussion instruments for exploration, and frequent opportunities to informally engage with performance fellows.
  • Working with faculty and performance fellows in the preparation of one original composition (approximately five minutes in duration, depending on the difficulty).
  • One recorded performance of a completed composition on a public festival concert.

Fellow Application:

Applicants must be 18 years or older to apply. 

Applicants to the composition workshop should submit:

1) Completed Composer Application (Note: please ignore all "character limit" restrictions.)

2) One of the following, to be performed during the festival:

  • the score (PDF) for a complete composition for percussion (2-6 players), no longer than five minutes in duration, to be revised during the festival,
  • the score (PDF) for a partially completed composition for percussion (2-6 players), which will be revised and completed during the festival,
  • a proposal (PDF) for a composition for percussion (2-6 player) which will be completed during the festival.

3) One or two scores (PDF) and recording (.mp3) of a complete composition for any instrumentation which you feel represents your best work. The recordings may be MIDI realizations. We will accept scores alone if no recordings are available.

4) A personal statement of interest (PDF) discussing what you intend to achieve during the festival.

5) A professional portfolio (PDF) that includes a description of your previous experience studying composition, possibly a bio / resume, and any prominent performances your works have received. Please also include the following information: name, address, phone, email, date of birth, degrees obtained, and school affiliation.

Application Submission (Deadline has passed)

All materials should be submitted digitally as PDF / mp3 to composition@niefnorf.org.

Please scan any hand-written materials. For large files, please use a delivery service such as yousendit.com. Finally, please do not send Sibelius / Finale files.

Questions? Send us a note to composition@niefnorf.org.

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