CoMA Open Score 2015 Concerto
Call for Pieces
Percussion Duo & Ensemble
CoMA has secured a fantastic opportunity for composers to write a work for
Percussion Duo & Ensemble, and to have their pieces workshopped and performed
by the internationally acclaimed percussionist Chris Brannick alongside an amateur
percussionist.
Short-listed compositions will be workshopped by Chris Brannick with the Open
Score Ensemble at the CoMA Contemporary Music Summer School in August 2015
and works submitted by composers attending the Summer School will be discussed
in practical masterclasses. At least one of the shortlisted works will receive a London
premiere with Chris Brannick playing the first solo part.
All composers will receive feedback on their pieces from the selection panel, and all
works submitted will be considered for inclusion in the CoMA Library. CoMA will
promote successful pieces with a view to further performances by other soloists
and other ensembles.
More about artistic director and first soloist CHRIS BRANNICK
Chris Brannick is a multi-instrumentalist who defies categorisation. A percussionist, composer,
singer, actor and writer, he holds a maths degree from Imperial College and a music degree from the
Royal Academy of Music.
In addition to solo work, Chris is a founder member of internationally renowned percussion
iconoclasts ensemblebash, FourSight, a quartet blurring the edge of contemporary music, and
Classic Rhythm, a maverick trio of musical magpies. As part of cabaret duo Casson and The Brannick
Academy, Chris has appeared in this country and in New York; their album Tutankhamun All
Wrapped Up sold 65,000 copies.
Chris was principal percussion for Glyndebourne Touring Opera for 15 years, before leaving to
concentrate on chamber music. His compositions and arrangements feature on CDs, websites,
documentaries, Children’s BBC and music festivals. Musical theatre remains central to his
performances, and Chris is also an actor, with credits running from ‘Mole’ in Wind In The Willows to
‘Everyman Explorer’ in Everything and Nothing. His book World Beats (published by A&C Black) is a
complete project resource for primary school teachers. He has been Joint CEO for the Newham
Music Trust, an educational charity, and is an examiner for the ABRSM.
Specification:
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Works must be between 5 and 8 minutes in duration.
The FIRST SOLO PART must be suitable for a conservatoire standard percussionist (a semiprofessional or very good amateur player).
The SECOND SOLO PART must be suitable for a non-specialist but talented musician (able to read
music and with experience of playing percussion, but not necessarily with formal training.
The INSTRUMENT LIST written for is as below. Special consideration will be given to composers
who use the minimum of instruments to their full potential. Acting, singing (non-professional),
speaking and movement may be included, but must be adaptable according to the skills of the
soloists.
o no more than two keyboard instruments (in total), choice of
 one of 4.3 octave marimba (low A) or 3 octave F-F vibraphone
 one of 3.5 octave F-C xylophone or 2.5 octave G-C glockenspiel
o up to 6 drums (not timpani)
o up to 6 other instruments that need stands (e.g. cymbals, triangles, temple blocks etc)
o up to 12 hand held instruments
o unusual instruments, sticks etc. need to be checked with [email protected]
o no timpani, no tubular bells
The soloists can share instruments, but consideration must be given to the physical demands
and instrument layout to make this feasible
The ENSEMBLE must consist of a four-part instrumental group of flexible size and
instrumentation, following the CoMA guidelines for flexibly scored pieces (see below) In
addition, the ensemble may include one keyboard player. All the ensemble parts must be within
the capabilities of amateur players.
To take part
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Submit finished scores by SUNDAY 31st MAY 2015, along with a completed application form.
There is a fee to cover administration costs. It is necessary to be a Friend of CoMA and we offer a
discount for new composers of £12 for membership valid to the end of December 2015.
Send scores, preferably as a PDF file attachment to [email protected], or by post to:
CoMA Open Score 2014, Rich Mix, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA.
It is important for composers to understand CoMA’s aims of inclusivity through participation,
and to read the CoMA guidelines on the web site: Writing for CoMA and Flexible Ensembles.
For further information or any questions, please contact [email protected]
CoMA guidelines and requirements for flexible scoring
What is flexible scoring?
CoMA ensembles vary in size and instrumentation, so we ask composers to write flexible
scores which are designed to be performed by different numbers and combinations of
instruments. You may specify your preferred instrumentation, but pieces must be playable
using many different combinations of instruments.
Division of parts
Flexible scores usually consist of four parts, and often a number of different instruments will
play from each part. The conductor and performers will choose which instruments play
each part, depending on what instruments are available, adjusting the instrumentation to
achieve the right balance. You may also include parts for keyboard if you wish. The following
is a typical division of parts:
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Part 1 upper range:
- e.g., violin, flute, oboe, clarinet
Part 2 upper middle range:
- e.g., violin, oboe, clarinet, viola, alto saxophone, trumpet
Part 3 lower middle range:
- e.g., viola, tenor saxophone, french horn, tenor horn, bassoon, trombone, guitar
Part 4 lower range:
- e.g., cello, double bass, bassoon, trombone, euphonium, tuba, bass guitar
keyboard (piano or electronic keyboard) – normally one player only
Examples
Scores and recordings of a number of existing CoMA works are available online at
http://www.coma.org/library. If you would like to view more scores, either in person at the
CoMA office or by post, contact Liz Herbert on [email protected].
Preparing for CoMA ensemble workshops - guidelines for composers
Score and part preparation
Please ensure that your score and part preparation covers the following points.
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The score should have a title, and if appropriate a short descriptive programme note.
Any special performance instructions that apply to the whole piece should appear at
the front of the score, and may also appear in the parts if appropriate.
For ‘Open Score’ pieces (flexible scoring), the score should show all parts ‘in C’, i.e., not
transposed.
Where the piece is for specific instrumentation, including transposing instruments,
transposed parts are preferred.
Use only one stave per part unless the part contains complicated divisi passages.
Try to use clefs for each part which are appropriate to the tessitura of the music – e.g.,
alto clef may be used for part 3.
Bar numbers must be shown in all pieces. In longer pieces, rehearsal letters should also
be used.
The initial tempo and all tempo changes must be clearly marked.
Metronome marks should be used where possible.
Order of staves:
- The two solo percussion parts should appear at the top of the score.
- Then place the ensemble parts in order of tessitura – Parts 1,2,3,4, etc.
- The Keyboard part(s), if any, should be placed below the ensemble parts
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The parts should be clearly labelled with the part number, transposition and clef – e.g.,
‘Part 1 in C Treble’; ‘Part 2 in Bb Treble’; etc.
Some parts may need extra clarification. For example, if you provide two versions of
Part 3, one for clarinet and one for tenor sax, the transpositions are different by an
octave. The clarinet part should be ‘Part 3 in Bb Treble (Clt)’; the sax part should be
‘Part 3 in Bb Treble (Sax)’.
Please try to avoid difficult page turns in the parts wherever possible.
Ensure score and parts are printed large enough to be easily legible, bearing in mind the
distance between the player and the music stand. E.g., if using Sibelius, use staff size 7
for the parts and not less than 6.6 in the score.
For percussion, list the instruments/timbres and the number of percussionists required
on the score and at the beginning of the part.
Lay out the percussion parts in instrumental groupings (tuned and untuned). Avoid
using multiple separate parts. Show instrument changes clearly. Be consistent about
the use of specific stave lines/space for specific sounds.
Score and parts should be made available in PDF format.
If you use Sibelius or other music notation software, it would be useful (but not
essential) to have a copy of the source file available, so that CoMA can more easily
generate any additional parts or transpositions that may be necessary.
Allocation of instruments to parts
The following table gives a rough guide to how the most common instruments may be assigned to
different parts in the ensemble. Parts for those instruments marked in bold and underlined are
essential; other parts may be regarded as optional.
In most cases, one part can serve for several instruments. E.g., Part 1 in C Treble Clef could be given
to Flute, Oboe and Violin. Part 4 in C Bass Clef could be given to cello, bassoon, trombone and
double bass, but bear in mind that in this case the double bass will sound an octave lower than
written. (In the range descriptions, C4 is ‘middle C’; B3 is the B below middle C; C5 is one octave
above middle C; etc.)
(Typical ranges, as written for C instrs)
Instrument
Transposition
Clef
C4-C7
G3-A5
C3-E5
C2-G4
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
(sounding)
Flute
None
Treble
in C
Piccolo
8ve higher
Treble
in C
Oboe
None
Treble
in C
Cor Anglais
perf 5th lower
Treble
Eb Clarinet
min 3rd higher
Treble
in Eb
Bb Clarinet
nd
maj 2 lower
Treble
in Bb
Bass Clarinet
maj 9th lower
Treble
in Bb
in Bb
Bassoon
None
in C
in C
Bb Soprano Sax
maj 2nd lower
Bass /
Tenor
Treble
Eb Alto Sax
th
maj 6 lower
Treble
Bb Tenor Sax
maj 9th lower
Treble
Eb Baritone Sax
8ve+maj 6th lower
Treble
in Bb
in C
in F
in F
in Bb
in Bb
in Bb
in Eb
in Eb
in Bb
in Eb
French Horn in F
th
perf 5 lower
Treble
in F
Eb Tenor Horn
maj 6th lower
Treble
in Eb
(Typical ranges, as written for C instrs)
Instrument
Transposition
Clef
C4-C7
G3-A5
C3-E5
C2-G4
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
in Bb
In Bb
(sounding)
Bb Trumpet
maj 2nd lower
Treble
Tenor Trombone
None
Bb Euphonium/Baritone
maj 9th lower
Bass /
Tenor
Treble
Tuba /Bass Trombone
None
Bass
in C
Eb Bass
8ve+maj 6th lower
Treble
in Eb
Bb Bass
nd
Two 8ves+ maj 2 lower
Treble
in Bb
Violin
None
Treble
Viola
None
Alto
Cello
None
in C
Double Bass/Bass Guitar 8ve lower
Bass /
Tenor
Bass
Guitar
8ve lower
Treble
in C
in C
Others
May vary
May
vary
As reqd
As reqd
in C
in C
in C
in Bb
in Bb
in C
in C
in C
in C
in C
As reqd
As reqd
ENTRY FORM
CoMA Open Score 2015 Concerto – Artistic director CHRIS BRANNICK
Call for Pieces for Percussion Duo and Ensemble
Deadline for submissions - 31 May 2015
Title of your composition ……………………………………………………………………………….…….
Name ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………........
Address ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......
Email ………………………………………………………………………………………………….......………….
Telephone ………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………
Please tell us how you heard about this call for pieces:
…………………………..................……………………………………………………………………..…………
Only one entry per composer is allowed.
Payment (cheques payable to ‘CoMA’) must accompany each entry:
 Entry fee £6
 Membership £12 if not already a Friend (discounted CoMA membership up to the
end of December 2015
Please send completed scores:
By e-mail to: [email protected] attaching your score as a PDF file. (Please attach only
PDF format documents if sending by e-mail.)
Or send hard copy by post to:
CoMA Open Score 2015 Concerto, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
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PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR NAME DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE SCORE.
DO NOT SEND PARTS AT THIS STAGE.
If you wish, you may also attach a MP3 format sound file, or a link to such a file on the
internet, but this is entirely optional.
Please ensure that your piece adheres to the CoMA Guidelines on the website:
Writing for CoMA and Flexible Ensembles
If your piece is shortlisted for workshopping at the CoMA Summer School, you will be
notified by 15th June 2015, and a full set of parts will be required by Tuesday 30th June 2015.
Note that if you attend the Summer School, whether your piece is shortlisted or not, it will
be discussed in practical masterclasses led by Chris Brannick
All pieces shortlisted works will also be considered for inclusion in the CoMA Library and you
will be notified of this separately.