An Unfinished Portrait by Gordon H. Wyllie. 2005

 

 

Thomas Wilson Prize for Composition (Guitar)

 

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the death of the composer Thomas Wilson, a composition prize has been inaugurated in association with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  Composers will be invited to choose a theme from six incidental works commissioned from Wilson by the BBC and STV. 

The Thomas Wilson Prize for Composition is intended for composers of 25 years of age or younger.  Works to be for solo guitar and should last between six and ten minutes.  Entries to be submitted by 29 February 2012. 

A jury of three will select a shortlist of three entries to be played by students of the Royal Conservatoire during the PLUG Festival in April 2012.  The jury will then select a winner to be awarded the prize of £500.

The adjudicators of the 2012 Thomas Wilson Prize for Composition are:

Gordon McPherson (Composer and Head of Composition, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)

John Maxwell Geddes (Composer)

Allan Neave (Head of Guitar, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)

For an application pack please apply to the Thomas Wilson Trust, c/o David Griffith, 146 Niddrie Road 3/2, GLASGOW, G3 7YL, UK or click here.

 

Excerpts from Wilson's Incidental Music

A Spell for Green Corn	Ships of the '45	The New Road	The Splendid Silent Sun	Cloud Howe	The Voyage of St. Brandon

Programme notes for Splendid Silent Sun

Full terms and conditions of the Thomas Wilson Prize for Composition (Guitar)

i. The composition must be an unpublished original work for solo guitar written after 4 November 2011.

ii. The work must not have had a public performance, a recording that is publicly available (whether commercial or not), or a broadcast of any sort.

iii. Four copies of each submission must be sent, one of which should have the composer’s name, address, telephone number and email written on the back of each page; the remaining three copies should have no identification markings on them. Do not send originals.

iv. Entries are limited to a maximum of two compositions per entrant.

v. Scores are sent at the entrants’ own risk. We cannot acknowledge receipt but suggest that scores are sent by recorded delivery. Entries cannot be returned.

vi. Scores must be clearly legible and printed on A4-size pages.

vii. The closing date for entries will be 29 February 2012.

viii. Entries must be sent in a sealed envelope to: The Thomas Wilson Prize for Composition, c/o David Griffith,146 Niddrie Road 3/2, GLASGOW G42 8QB, United Kingdom

ix. There is no entry fee.

x. The competition will be judged during March and April 2012 by a jury comprising the Head of Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Head of Strings at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the composer John Maxwell Geddes.

xi. The jury reserves the right to withhold the prize.

xii. The winner will be announced by April 2012.

xiii. Winners may be required to provide proof of age.

xiv. The three finalists grant permission for their works to be performed as part of the PLUG Festival at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in April 2012 during which the winner will be announced. The finalists are expected to be able to attend the performance in Glasgow at their own expense.

xv. Entrants give their permission for the Thomas Wilson Trust to archive one copy of their submission.

xvi. The composer will retain the copyright of the work, but will agree to include the caveat “inspired by the music of Thomas Wilson, CBE” on all future publications.

xvii. The prize will be £500.

xviii. In all matters relating to the competition the decision of the jury is final and correspondence will not be entered into. Submitting an entry for the competition indicates the entrant’s unqualified acceptance of all the above terms and conditions.