Vancouver Pro Musica Presents

Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet

Ensemble-in-Residence for Sonic Boom 2024

Call for Scores

Overview

Vancouver Pro Musica is pleased to invite all BC composers to submit new works for our Featured Ensemble-in-Residence for Sonic Boom 2024:  Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet. Selected works will be presented as part of the 2024 Sonic Boom Festival March 15 to 17, 2024.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, December 8, 2023 at 11:59pm.

About Saxophilia

Saxophilia, in collaboration with Rita Ueda, our Sonic Boom 2024 Composer-in-Residence, will present a fall workshop and, after the selection process, will provide feedback on the works selected for performance to the composers during a reading session several weeks before the final concert (see Important Dates below). Both the workshop and the reading session are open to the public. Composers will receive an archive recording of the premiere performance of their piece following the Sonic Boom Festival concert.

Formed in 1996, the Vancouver-based saxophone quartet Saxophilia has been committed to giving the highest quality performances of classical saxophone repertoire.  Its members include Julia Nolan on soprano saxophone, Kris Covlin on alto saxophone, David Branter on tenor saxophone, and Colin MacDonald on baritone saxophone.  All of the quartet members are active performers in Vancouver’s music community, as soloists and as band members in a wide variety of styles from classical to jazz to popular music.  This appreciation of a diversity of music informs the group’s choice of repertoire, which ranges from the standard repertoire of classical saxophone quartet, to contemporary music, to jazz arrangements and lighter fare.

The quartet has been active in the new music community, appearing in the Vancouver New Music Festival 2004 and the Sonic Boom Festivals of 1999, 2000, and 2006. They were the featured saxophone section in Vancouver Opera’s production of Nixon in China in 2010. Outside of Vancouver, the group has presented programs at regional conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance held in Victoria and Saskatoon, and has performed at the 12th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal.

Saxophilia successfully commissioned John Burke in 2004 for his piece Gyaling, assisted in the creation of Last Call by Derek Charke, and gave the Western Canada premiere of Peter Hannan’s Fast Truck Bop.  The group has also given the Canadian premiere of works by international composers such as Graham Fitkin, Erki-Sven Tüür, Helena Tulva, David Kechley, and Michael Torke. In 2018, the ensemble released their self-titled recording Saxophilia, featuring the music of BC composers Dorothy Chang, Peter Hannan, and Colin MacDonald. Their second album, Metamorphosis, will be released on September 1, 2023.

For more information about Saxophilia visit https://saxophilia.com

Application Guidelines

We welcome submissions from BC composers of all styles and genres. To submit a score for this Call, complete the online form at the bottom of this page. Payment may be made through Paypal, or by cheque mailed separately. Only submission forms completed through this website will be considered.

Instrumentation

Saxophilia is an unconducted saxophone quartet (i.e. 4 players). The instruments are:

soprano saxophone

alto saxophone

tenor saxophone

baritone saxophone

Requirements

Submissions must be scored for the full ensemble (i.e. all 4 instruments as listed above). Submissions scored for fewer than 4 instruments will not be considered. Your submission must include a score for a piece no more than 10 minutes in length (pieces 6-8 mins preferred).

Although notated scores are preferred, graphic scores are possible.

Pieces may include live electronics as an accompaniment to the ensemble.  Any electronic component must be reasonably simple to set up and use, and the complexity of the electronics may be a factor in the selection process. We can provide two microphones for the performance, as well as two loudspeakers in a stereo configuration. Composers must supply their own computer and audio interface (with at least two mic inputs and two outputs) for the performance. Composers are also expected to operate the live electronics patch for their work. If pieces with electronics are selected, their composers are required to attend the reading session and rehearsals. Composers may need to source and transport their own live electronics equipment for rehearsal purposes, as the microphones and loudspeakers for the performance may not be available on the rehearsal dates.

Parts will only be required for pieces that have been selected (see Important Dates below).

All submissions must also meet the following requirements:

• Submitting composers must be residents of BC.
• Submissions must be received by 11:59 pm on Friday, December 8, 2023 
• Accompanied by cash or cheque sent by mail. The fee for submission is $18. Fees help support the presentation of new works.
• Works must have been composed within the past three years.
• Works must not have been previously performed at a Vancouver Pro Musica concert.
• All submitting composers are strongly encouraged to have attended the fall workshop presented by Saxophilia (see Important Dates below)
• Composers of selected pieces will be expected to attend the reading session of their work, and the soundcheck and concert at which their composition is premiered.

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  Checklist
  Submissions must include:

  • The composer’s name, address, and e-mail address.
  • Application fee ($18). We recognize the diversity of our submitting composers and the wide range of financial situations that each deals with. If you require accommodation, please contact the VPM administration at [email protected] prior to submitting your score.
  • Fee payments can be made via Paypal or cheque by mail. Please make cheques payable to:
    • Vancouver Pro Musica Society
      PO Box 78077 RPO Grandview
      Vancouver, BC V5N 5W1
  • Two copies of the score. One copy of the score should be anonymous, for adjudication of submissions. (Please read How to Prepare an Anonymized Score PDF)

  Announcement and Presentation of Works Selected

  All submitted works will be adjudicated by an anonymous jury. Vancouver Pro Musica will contact all the submitters by Friday, December 22, 2023. This event is intended to be as inclusive as possible. However, the number of submissions, potential production costs, time constraints, and other practical concerns may require that not all submitters will have a work selected.  These considerations may not permit the selection or the performance of all submissions.

  Composers whose piece is selected for the Featured Ensemble must be ready to provide all required performance materials including parts in good time for rehearsals prior to the final concert. Composers whose works are presented will receive an archive recording of their work for non-commercial purposes.

  All composers who submit—regardless of whether or not their piece is selected as part of the Sessions—automatically become members in good standing of Vancouver Pro Musica, exempt from membership dues for one year.

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  Important Dates

  • Sunday, October 1, 2023 from 2:00-5:00 pm: at the VSO School of Music (843 Seymour St., Vancouver, B.C.) in the Arthur H. Willms Salon (2nd Floor). Workshop presented by Saxophilia.
  • Friday, December 8, 2023 at 11:59pm: Score submission deadline.
  • Friday, December 22, 2023: Submitters notified of selection results.
  • Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024,  from 2:00-5:00 pm. Readings of selected scores.  Location: VSO School of Music Willms Salon (2nd Floor) (843 Seymour St., Vancouver, B.C.
  • Concert date: Sunday, March 17th, 2024, 7:30pm  at the Orpheum Annex.

Submission Form