Duo Tarenna, in collaboration with violinist Farah Wu, cellist Chan Sihan and flutist Paul Huang, is delighted to announce its first open commissioning call for 1-2 composers to have a new work premiered in the second half of 2024. The total commissioning fee available is $1000, which will be divided in the case of two composers being selected. The new work(s) should be 5 to 15 minutes duration for 3 to 5 instruments from the following instrument list:
- 2 violins (Farah Wu, Tan Tiag Yi)
- 1 viola (Cindy Ow)
- 1 cello (Chan Sihan)
- 1 flute (Paul Huang)
In addition to being commissioned to write a new work, the selected composer(s) will collaborate with the musicians to program the rest of the concert repertoire. The pieces for the concert should be selected to draw connections between the selected composer’s practice and that of the numerous musical cultures that inform it, forming a snapshot of a living composer’s sound world. The selected composer(s) must be willing to participate in a post-concert dialogue hosted by the musicians and to be interviewed for social media publicity as part of this project, as well as to participate in other public engagement programmes as decided by Duo Tarenna. The selected composer(s) will also host the concert featuring their music.
Submission Requirements
Applicants for this open call are to required to submit the following items in the following formats :
- Sketches (lasting about a minute or so, in pdf) and a written/video proposal with a maximum length of 500 words or 5 minutes for the commissioned work (.pdf or .mp4). Computer-generated recordings of the sketches are also welcome, if possible (.mp3)
- A sample programme of music for the concert (in pdf) lasting at least 30 minutes that can be played by any combination of the instruments listed above, with a short explanation for the repertoire choices in the form of a video with a maximum duration of 5 minutes (.mp4). The programme should not contain more than two works of the composer’s own music, including the newly commissioned work. Please note that the use of electronics will not be possible for this project
- A portfolio of full scores of two past works for contrasting combinations of instruments, with program notes, of which at least one should include some combination of the instruments listed for this commissioning call, if possible (.pdf)
- Recordings of the two works submitted as part of the portfolio in mp3 (MIDI and live recordings are both acceptable, although live recordings are preferred)
- A 200-word biography (.pdf)
To maintain participants’ anonymity, we would like all participants to pick a random 3-digit number from 000 to 999 and name each file according to the following format (where XYZ represents the 3-digit number):
- XYZ_CommissionedWorkSketch.pdf
- XYZ_CommissionedWorkSketchRecording.mp3
- XYZ_CommissionedWorkProposal.pdf (or .mp4)
- XYZ_SampleConcertProgramme.pdf
- XYZ_SampleConcertProgrammeExplanation.mp4
- XYZ_(Name of Piece 1).pdf
- XYZ_(Name of Piece 2).pdf
- XYZ_(Name of Piece 1).mp3
- XYZ_(Name of Piece 2).mp3
- XYZ_Bio.pdf
All of the files listed above should be submitted in one email to opencall.duotarenna@gmail.com. Use of a file-sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer is encouraged, but applicants should ensure that all of the files are accessible through one email. Do NOT indicate your name in any of the files, except your biography. For details on how the open call will be judged, please see the section ‘Judging Process’.
The deadline for submission of all application materials is 31 October 2023, 11:59:59 PM SGT. If you encounter any technical difficulties during submission, do not hesitate to email us at opencall.duotarenna@gmail.com for help.
By submitting an application for this open call, composers consent to the musicians retaining their materials for future reference.
Eligibility
This open commissioning call is open to all Singaporean/Singapore-based composers above the age of 18 years as of 31 August 2023.. Emerging composers are preferred and strongly encouraged to apply. ‘Emerging’ can be variously defined, and could include not having been commissioned before, not having been performed publicly before etc. Participants’ compositional experience will be taken into account in the assessment of the proposal and drafts they submit, following the shortlisting process. Composers who have been commissioned by Duo Tarenna within the last 2 years are ineligible to apply.
Judging Process
Submitted applications will be assessed by a panel comprising the musicians involved in the project and distinguished musicians. There are no limits to compositional style; key criteria during the judging process include coherence of proposed program and original, conceptually-strong compositional ideas that explore their topics of interest while also putting contemporary classical music in a new, accessible light. All applicants with complete applications will receive feedback on their applications regardless of outcome, as we hope to support all applicants in their compositional journeys in whatever small ways we can.
The applications will be assessed in two stages by the panel. Firstly, all scores submitted (including the anonymised sketch for the new commissioned work) will be evaluated, with each panel member listening to at least one work submitted by the applicant in full. Secondly, all video submissions and the programme proposal will be evaluated by the musicians. The results from both rounds will then be deliberated upon by the panel to arrive at the final selection. The consolidation of applications and direct communication with applicants will be handled by a separate administrator apart from the project musicians, in order to maintain anonymity.
Timeline:
August 2023– Open Call begins
October 2023 – Open Call closes
Late November 2023 – Selected composer announced
Early February 2024 — First draft due
Early April 2024 — Final score due
July/August 2024 — Performance
Selection Panel Biographies:
Duo Tarenna
Duo Tarenna is a new ensemble founded in 2020, although its members (Tan Tiag Yi and Cindy Ow) have been playing together since much earlier. At the 2018 Singapore Performers’ Festival, the duo was part of a group that was awarded the highest award of Platinum. In 2022, the duo presented its first two concerts in Singapore (Journey on Eight Strings and parts + pieces), premiering a total of four new works by four emerging Singaporean composers. In 2023, the duo performed in London (RE:IMAGINE) and Singapore (Silent Moon), exploring the intersections of poetry and music while commissioning three new poems. Going forward, they hope to champion contemporary chamber music through innovative and thoughtful programming, particularly providing opportunities to young composers from Singapore and Asia.
Farah Wu
Farah Wu (b. 1998, Singapore) is a violinist and pianist. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Hons) from the Royal College of Music in 2021, where she studied violin under the tutelage of Michal Cwizewicz, Itzhak Rashkovsky and Berent Korfker, and piano under Kathron Sturrock. She has also played in masterclasses under renowned violinists such as Pierre Amoyal, Albert Markov, Krzystof Wegrzyn and Fanny Clamagirand. During her time in the RCM, she received the RCM Musicians’ Grant Fund and was an active chamber musician who explored works by underrepresented and contemporary composers.
Prior to her studies in the UK, she learnt the violin under Marietta Ku, and the piano under Timothy Ku, Paul Liang and Alice Ng. She has played in numerous local orchestras, such as the Orchestra of Music Makers, Musicians’ Initiative and Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra, and was the concertmistress of the Raffles Chamber Ensemble in 2016. Since her return from the UK, she has been an active violin and piano teacher and accompanist, as well as a conductor for the Nanyang Primary String Ensemble (Junior). She also attained Second Prize in the Violin Classical Senior Category of the Happy Music Festival 2021, and was one of the violin judges in the 2022 rendition. She is currently undergoing the Master of Music programme at University of Illinois under the tutelage of Dr. Salley Koo. Farah is passionate about music education for the underprivileged and shining a light on underperformed works. Some of her other interests include E-sports, strategy gaming and Dungeons & Dragons.
Chan Sihan
Chan Sihan started playing the cello when he was 8. He learnt under Chan Wei Shing, Herminia Ilano and obtained a Diploma in Music Performance from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts under the tutelage of Yu Jing. In 2015, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music with Honors with the Royal College of Music, in collaboration with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, learning under Guo Hao in Singapore, and Alexander Boyarsky in London.
Sihan has played in numerous ensembles and orchestras, including the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, Singapore Festival Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, The Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Lyric Opera, Philharmonic Youth Winds ensemble, the Singapore Armed Forces Band, the Chamber Players, and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, in which he was the associate principal of the cello section in 2006, to name a few.
Sihan is currently a freelance chamber and orchestral musician. Apart from music, he has a passion for diving and is also a certified scuba-diving instructor who yearns for the ocean whenever he has the time.
Paul Huang
Paul Huang is an accomplished flautist and music educator with experience in flute performance and music education. He has taught in various settings, including large ensembles such as orchestras, wind bands, and choirs, and has expanded his expertise by lecturing on performance psychology and musician’s health and well-being. Paul holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from the Royal College of Music (RCM) and NAFA. Passionate about scientific research in music, Paul pursued postgraduate studies in Performance Science at the RCM, where he trained in performance psychology. He aims to help musicians perform better by incorporating innovative approaches beyond traditional music education.
Leslie Tan
Leslie Tan has performed to critical acclaim in major venues and festivals worldwide. These include the Tanglewood and Aspen Festivals in the USA; the Melbourne and Port Fairy Festivals in Australia; the New Zealand Festival; the Hong Kong Arts Festival; and the Prague-Vienna-Budapest Sommerakademie, the City of London Festival and the Edinburgh Festival in Europe
In a career that has spanned 35 years, ranging from orchestral to chamber and solo concerts; from contemporary and cross-disciplinary works to historically informed performances, Leslie is sought after both as a pedagogue and concert artiste.
He is also the artistic director and co-founder of the Bach-in-Bali Festival. He is also a founding member of Red Dot Baroque.
Leslie is a champion of outreach activities, and musical and transformative education in the ASEAN region, teaching in different festivals and projects ,
Through his latest initiative, ProjectArtitude, and as a Citizen Ambassador of the Singapore International Foundation, he hopes to enrich the lives of the underprivileged and the disenfranchised across Asia.
Eugene Birman
EUGENE BIRMAN (b. 1987) is the composer and creator of numerous highly awarded international multidisciplinary productions, with commissioners and partners extending far beyond the concert hall to major international bodies such as the European Union, Hong Kong SAR, the United States Department of State, and others. His creative output, encompassing ambitious, socially relevant works for the stage, synthesizes virtuosic musical content with cutting-edge technology; he has pioneered the use of large-scale holography, immersive opera environments, and interactive digital media in classical music. “High drama” and “intense emotion” (BBC), “magnificent and compelling” (OPERA magazine), “the most stunning and divisive” (Business Times), “the most radical and ambitious” (5:4), “animalistic” (Eesti Kultuurileht “SIRP”), “from haunting and atmospheric to plain brutal” (BBC Music Magazine), “a breakthrough in public art” (ReNew Vision), “at once, ingenious, hypnotic, brave, and beautiful” (Festival Internazionale A.F. Lavagnino)- his work exists at “the convergence of major current issues and supreme beauty” (Gulbenkian). He has been recognized with prominent fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (2018) and the US Department of State’s Fulbright Program (2010-11), awarded the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize, leading to a season-long residency at the Southbank Centre and world premiere with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall, and appointed the sole Artist-in-Residence of the 2018 Helsinki Festival, Finland’s biggest yearly cultural event. In 2021, he took up the position of Artist-in-Residence at the Manchester International Festival. His work has been prominently featured on major news and media outlets worldwide: CNN, BBC World TV, Bloomberg, National Geographic, the New York Times, Radio France, Deutsche Welle, and the South China Morning Post are among countless others that have broadcast and reported on his projects.
Thank you and we look forward to your submissions!
– Duo Tarenna
Duo Tarenna 