Regulations

Application deadline: 15 October 2023

 

​There is no age limit and no application fee. The competition is open to composers of all nationalities. The duration of the composition should be minimum of 4 and maximum of 8 minutes.

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The Black Pencil Prize will be awarded to a new composition written for the instrumentation of the Black Pencil ensemble: recorder, panflute, viola, accordion, percussion (all five of the ensemble's instruments). The piece can also include harpsichord, (live) electronics, video and/or theatrical elements.

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Black Pencil will also be ensemble in residence in the 2023 edition of the Prix Annelie de Man, 29 November - 03 December 2023 at the Orgelpark Amsterdam. It means that you can count on the expertise of the virtuoso members of Black Pencil for writing new compositions, making use of the instrumentation of the ensemble.

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Jorge Isaac – Recorder (blockflute), Artistic Director

Matthijs Koene – Panflute

Esra Pehlivanli – Viola

Marko Kassl – Accordion

Enric Monfort – Percussion

 

For detailed information about each one of the instruments and how to write for Black Pencil, please visit blackpencil.org/forcomposers.

Prizes 

• EUR. 2.000

• A professional studio recording of the winning composition

• Performance of the piece during a selection of concerts of Black Pencil

• Additional prizes will be considered

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Jury
ALL members of Ensemble Black Pencil

Roderik de Man 

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The jury will choose 3 to 5 works to be performed during the festival Prix Annelie de Man, 29 November -03 December 2023 at Orgelpark Amsterdam, from which the winning composition will be selected. We reserve the right to make necessary planning and programme order during the concert.

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Application
Candidates should supply:
- Most recent biography of max. 200 words (in English)

- A recent photo of the composer in high resolution

- A program note: a description of the composition.

- If applicable: a brief description of any special features, such as preparation of instruments, electronics, visuals, props, complex staging, etc.
- The score and parts of the piece, together with the necessary performance instructions in PDF. Please use your real name: a pseudonym is not needed.
- A MIDI audio file (in mp3 format) for reference

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Note: a composer is welcome to submit more than one composition.