Chamber Choir Ireland and the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland are delighted to renew their composer professional development partnership, Choral Sketches for the fifth year with new composer mentor, Rhona Clarke.

Following on from the success of previous years, this is a unique professional development opportunity for composers who wish to develop their skills in writing choral music with mentoring from renowned Irish composer, Rhona Clarke.

The purpose of Choral Sketches is to provide a creative and open environment for composers to deepen their experience in writing for voices in a choral context. It offers a collegial atmosphere for selected composers to benefit from the opportunity of peer learning from their fellow participant composers. The project is open to all composers born or based on the island of Ireland.

The process of writing is central to Choral Sketches with the focus on the open workshop where sketches only (not finished pieces) can be workshopped and trialled with the singers and conductor of Chamber Choir Ireland, giving the composers detailed insight in how to present their compositional voice in a choral context. After this central part of the process is complete, composers go on to use the insights gained at the workshop to develop their sketches into a completed piece of between 5-8 minutes.

What happens in the Choral Sketches project?

• A maximum of three composers will be selected to take part in Choral Sketches 2023 following an anonymous submission process.
• The selected composers will first meet with the composer mentor in a one-to-one meeting to discuss their proposal and meet with their fellow participant composers in CMC in February 2023.
• Selected composers will then have the opportunity to have a 45 minute one-to-one online mentoring session between the participant composer and composer mentor ahead of submitting their sketches for the public workshop.
• The selected composers will then submit their sketches to CMC by March 27th at 12pm ahead of their public workshop with Chamber Choir Ireland.
• These sketches will be the focus of a public workshop led by conductor, Sofi Jeannin with Chamber Choir Ireland on Thursday 20th April 2023, in the National Concert Hall, Dublin as part of New Music Dublin 2023.
• Each composer will be allocated 40 minutes to workshop their choral sketches with input from Chamber Choir Ireland guest conductor, Sofi Jeannin and composer mentor, Rhona Clarke. A recording will be made of this workshop for archival and study purposes for the composers.
• Following this workshop there will be another 45 minute one-to-one online mentoring session with composer mentor, Rhona Clarke.
• Composers will then submit their finished pieces to CMC in early August 2023.
• The finished pieces will then be the subject of a performance reading by Chamber Choir Ireland in Mid-September 2023. A recording will be made of this session for archival and study purposes.
• The selected composers will each receive a stipend of €500 for their participation in Choral Sketches. This stipend will be paid by CMC over the course of the opportunity.

 

Would you like to apply for Choral Sketches 2023?

In order to make a submission, composers must submit the following by email to [email protected] by 12pm on Tuesday, 7 February 2023.

Please include the following:

1. A proposal outlining how Choral Sketches will enable you to explore your compositional ideas and develop your skills. Please provide this in pdf format along with your contact details. This proposal will then be the subject of your meeting with composer mentor, Rhona Clarke in February 2023.
2. Two recent completed scores in pdf format (not excerpts) and mp3 recordings or electronic realisations of each score. Please ensure that both scores and mp3 recordings do not have any identifying features.

 

Notes for applicants

The selection process for Choral Sketches 2023 will be anonymous, and any scores or recordings with any identifying features may preclude the applicant from consideration by the panel.  Please include your name and contact details on the email only.

This opportunity is open to all composers born or based on the island of Ireland.

Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered.

For queries on Choral Sketches, please contact Keith Fennell, CMC Production Coordinator.

Email: [email protected]

Call: 01-673 1922