The award winning A4 Brass Quartet has announced the launch of their 3rd Annual Composition Competition.

After a busy year of concerts spanning the length of the UK, plus a trip to Finland, the ensemble is now looking ahead to 2020 when they will travel to Switzerland twice, as well as perform in concerts at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and St John Smith's Square in London as part of their high profile schedule of appearances.

2019 winners

The 2019 competition winner Andy Wareham claimed the award with his exciting lunar-inspired composition 'The Code'. He followed in the footsteps of 2018 winner Daniel Hall, with both composers now enjoying a busy compositional programme of commissions and projects.

10-year old Junior Guildhall student Torin Christopherson claimed the award for the 'Best under-24' entrant.

Inspiration

This year A4 Brass are looking for a concert work inspired by the city, culture, and/or heritage of Manchester — the quartet's spiritual home.

Works for either acoustic brass quartet or works incorporating backing tracks and/or audio electronics will be accepted.

Rules:

The brief for the compositions is very free, but the following must apply to each entry:

Compositions must be of 4-8 minutes in duration

Works must never have been performed before

Instrumentation of: Bb Cornet (doubling Flugel), Tenor Horn in Eb, Baritone Horn in Bb (treble clef) and Euphonium in Bb (treble clef)

Mutes are available if required for all instruments

It is not necessary to submit scores anonymously

Please consider score/part presentation, practicality and suitability for concert performance for the entry

Entries MUST contain a set of BOTH score and parts.

This year A4 Brass are looking for a concert work inspired by the city, culture, and/or heritage of Manchester — the quartet's spiritual home4BR

Prizes:

Under 24 award (if both 1st and 2nd prize fall into this category, the next highest U24 entry will receive this award).

1st Prize: £400 and regular performances on the quartet's concert series in 2020/21.

2nd Prize: £150 and regular performances on the quartet's concert series in 2020/21.

Under 24 Prize: £100

How to Enter:

Scores can be submitted as either a Sibelius 7 (or earlier) file OR as PDF files accompanied by an mp3/m4a file, and need to be emailed to a4brassquartet@hotmail.co.uk with 'A4 COMPOSITION COMPETITION' in the subject line.

The closing date for entries is Friday 10th April 2020.