The Grainger Wind Symphony is committed to performing Australian music, including that of Percy Grainger, and supporting composers in their endeavour. In addition to regular programming of Australian works, The Grainger Wind Symphony presents an annual public concert devoted to Australian composers and their compositions.
This event, often called “Made in Australia”, has a particular focus on emerging composers: supplying growth and education opportunities through workshopping new pieces and creating a public arena for premieres.
Australian composers are invited to prepare and submit score and parts of an original composition for wind symphony.
The closing date for 2024 is closed. For 2025 composers can submit a work by 31 January 2025.
Selected works/composers will:
- receive feedback from experienced musicians on elements such as score/part engraving, usual notational conventions, and instrumental idioms;
- hear their work for wind symphony played by expert musicians;
- be invited to attend rehearsals to discuss their work with players and obtain an audio recording of the rehearsal;
- receive a complimentary double pass to the concert and so experience the full process—from players doing first sightread to the performance;
- be invited to participate in a pre-concert talk composer panel immediately prior to the concert; and
- receive a high quality, stereo mix of a multitrack recording of the performance—ideal for use in show-reels, CVs, and portfolios.
To be considered, the composer/work should meet the following requirements:
- The composer is an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Australia. GWS may consider composers of other nationalities who are undertaking two or more semesters of tertiary music study in Australia.
- The work is unpublished. That is, not available for retail purchase. Composers who self-publish (i.e. sell their scores online not through a publishing house) may submit works provided they grant GWS full, pro bono performance rights to the work.
- The work is scored for the usual instrumentation of The GWS.
- Minor deviations from the usual instrumentation (e.g. for two French Horns rather than the standard four) are permitted.
- Please avoid smaller ensembles comprising combinations of the usual instrumentation.
- The usual instrumentation of GWS is attached at the bottom of this document.
- GWS encourages shorter works as the rehearsal time is limited—shorter works allow for a more in-depth and more effective workshopping process. The preferred duration is about 6 – 8 minutes.
- Special elements of performance, such as projections, pre-recorded audio, electronics, rare/unusual instruments are permitted, but it is expected that the composer will be able to source or supply the necessary resources to perform such music successfully.
- The score and all parts are clearly engraved. This means:
- Avoid object collisions;
- Avoid ambiguous, redundant, missing, or otherwise out-of-place markings (e.g. crescendo marks next to empty bars, needlessly split multi-rests, systems squashed with too many bars or stretched with too few, stray mute directions, fermata missing in some parts, tempo directions missing in some parts, etc.);
- All text and numbers in score prints at a minimum size 10pt font (not 8pt, the typical default size), in parts minimum size 12pt font. Often the default font sizes are small and difficult to read when the full number of stave are set;
- The score and parts have the first bar of each system numbered and logically placed rehearsal marks through the work;
- The score is laid-out on double-sided A3 paper (with margins set for long-edge spiral binding), parts on double-sided A4 paper;
- The score has a title page, list of instrumentation with the number of each part required for performance, program note, and composer bio. Photo of the composer is optional. The footer to include the version/date as a footer (8pt font).
- Page breaks in parts accommodate page turns, and each page labelled, other than the first, with title and page number as header (10pt), and version number and/or date as a footer (8pt).
The first deadline is 31st January 2025 for submission of:
- full score in pdf
- parts in pdf submitted as separate files
- program notes
- a brief Covering Letter outlining the composer’s bio, artistic aspirations/achievements, the stage the composer is at in their career, and that they meet the eligibility requirements set out above.
Submissions should be emailed to music.director@graingerwindsymphony.asn.au.
The selection panel will meet to discuss and determine which submissions will be selected for performance. Apart for evaluating the artistic consideration and realising an artistic intent, the selection panel will look at how well the notation of the work can be comprehended by players and conductor when realising the work in performance. Composers are encouraged to use standard notation principles and standard instrumentation. This will in turn give a stronger likelihood of repeat perforamnces.
All applicants will receive brief feedback on their submissions. Successful applicants may be required to make minor changes to facilitate the performance or rehearsal needs of GWS and should expect to meet with the Music Director to discuss their work.
The second and final deadline for those works selected for performance is 6th March 2025 for the submission of the final version of the works. Composers to provide:
- final score in pdf with the introductory pages listed above;
- a full set of parts in pdf for A4 booklet layout (if more than one page) with each part being a separate file; and
- head-shot photograph in hi-resolution (about 1MB) and brief composer’s bio, along with web links, social media handles for program, website and publicity, in all digital format.
Rehearsals commence April 2025. Successful composers will be invited to attend a rehearsal at a negotiated time and will have an opportunity to speak briefly with the players and conductor. All rehearsals of the work will be recorded and made available to the composer each week. The public performance is the concert Made In Australia proposed Saturday, 31st April 2025.
Questions should be directed to Music Director Roland Yeung: m: 0432 445 577; e: music.director@graingerwindsymphony.asn.au.
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Usual Instrumentation of The Grainger Wind Symphony in Score Order
Please consider writing for this combination of instruments as this is the standard that school and community bands aim to maintain. Writing for a standard set will ensure a larger number of band will be able to program your work in the future.
One Piccolo part (optional, one player; can double flute)
Two Flute parts (two players playing first, three seconds)
Two Oboe parts (one or two players; one maybe doubling Cor Anglais depending on player availability)
Two Bassoon parts (one or two players; please do not score for Contrabassoon)
One E-flat Clarinet part (optional, one player)
Three B-flat Clarinet parts (two or three players each of firsts, seconds, thirds; or if four parts with two per part)
(please do not score for E-flat Alto Clarinet part)
One B-flat Bass Clarinet (one or two players; optional contrabass clarinet in Bb)
Saxophones in AATB (optional SAATB or SATB, one player per part)
Three, four, five, or six Trumpet/Cornet parts (four to six players in all; some can double flugelhorn)
Four Horn in F parts (one each on first, second, third, fourth, (or Two Horn in F parts, one player per part)
Two Tenor Trombone parts (two or three players; one first and one seconds, (or two firsts and one second)
One Bass Trombone part (one player)
One Baritone (treble clef) part (one player; it is usually an exact transposition of the Bass Clef Euphonium part)
One Euphonium – Bass Clef part (one or two players)
One Tuba part (one or two players)
One String Bass (one or two players; dropped tuning ok, do not write for C extension)
Four Percussion parts (four or five players; including standard orchestral equipment, grand pianoforte, mallet percussion, timpani, auxiliary percussion)
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Submissions should be emailed to Roland Yeung Music Director music.director@graingerwindsymphony.asn.au by 31 January 2025.
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Queries: contact Roland Yeung via music.director@graingerwindsymphony.asn.au