Emerging Composers Competition
About the ECC
The Jâca Emerging Composers Competition (ECC) is an initiative that commissions new works for the clarinet and guitar from emerging composers worldwide.
Selected composers work directly with Jâca in a collaborative process culminating in widespread exposure of their works. The ECC was created in 2020 to serve Jâca's mission of "expanding the repertoire for clarinet and guitar and to promote multiculturalism". Previous winners have hailed from Canada, Kuwait, and the USA and have had their works recorded and performed by Jâca worldwide.
2024/25 Competition
Details:
No age restriction. Submit an original single or multi-movement work for Bb clarinet and guitar (music can be drawn from source material), 5 - 12 minutes in length.
Applicants are encouraged to review Jâca’s body of work via recordings, video, and social media for inspiration.
Submissions will be judged on the following open-ended criteria:
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Idiomatic writing for both instruments
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Influenced by the diverse musical heritage of either/both instruments
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The accessibility of the piece for diverse audiences
Prizes:
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1st place winner receives $500 prize, a premiere performance, and publication on Jâca’s database and online store.
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2nd place winner receives $200 and in-kind prizes described above.
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3rd place winner receives honorable mention on press-releases and the option of publication.
Application Fee: $25.00
Deadline: April 5, 2025
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2020/21
The 2020/2021 edition of Jâca's Emerging Composers Competition (ECC) centered on a theme relating to "culture." Composers were tasked with writing an original (though music could be drawn from source material), unpublished work for Bb clarinet and guitar with a theme relating to “culture.” Not restricted to the culture of any one country, the work could explore the traditions, customs, values, and lifestyles of any collection of people, including a blending of cultures. We encouraged composers to apply their personal cultural and musical experiences in a single- or multi-movement work, 5-12 minutes in length.
The first-prize winner received an award of $1,000 and had their piece published by Potenza Music, with a guaranteed future performance and recording by Jâca.
Second and third prizes include a recording of their work and a premiere performance by Jâca.
2021 Prizewinners:
1st Prize: Candace Bustard, Melodies from My Mother
2nd Prize: Charles Edholm, Echo Dance
3rd Prize (tie): Adnan Marafi, Arabesque
& Michael Caudill, The Wanderer
Click on the names above to visit composers' websites.
Visit our shop to watch and listen to the pieces and to purchase a copy of their finished work.
