Arcadia Winds has opened submissions for its 2021 Composition Prize. The ensemble will be commissioning a new 6-10 minute work for wind quintet from a young Australian composer aged 18-35.

Arcadia Winds. Image supplied.

Applicants are required to write a proposal detailing how they would approach writing a wind quintet, along with two examples of previous works that demonstrate their ability to write for wind instruments or in a chamber music idiom.

The entries will be judged by Australian composers Lachlan Skipworth and Elizabeth Younan, alongside members of Arcadia Winds.

The winner will receive a cash prize of $3,000 and flights to and from Melbourne for a workshop with the ensemble. The winning composition will be premiered at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 6 July 2022, and be featured on Arcadia Winds’ Australian music portal, WindStreams.

Established in 2018, previous winners of the prize are Mark Holdsworth, Harry Sdraulig, Cayn Borthwick. Arcadia Winds has also commissioned a number of works outside the prize, including pieces by Elliott Gyger, Natalie Williams, Lachlan Skipworth, Kate Neal and Elizabeth Younan.

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