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Guidelines for Large Ensemble Composition Readings, 2013-2014
REQUIREMENTS: All scores and parts submitted must adhere to the following guidelines. Any
scores or parts which fail to meet these guidelines will be returned to the composer for correction.
If there is not sufficient time to make the necessary corrections, the piece will not receive a
reading.
1) Duration:
All works must be of 10 minutes or less in duration. Movements of longer works can be
read provided they are not longer than 10 minutes.
2) Instrumentation:
Only works which can be performed by the current membership of the Peabody
Symphony Orchestra will be read.
Following is the maximum instrumentation allowed:
4 flutes (1 may play piccolo; 1 may play alto flute)
4 oboes (1 may play English horn)
4 clarinets (1 may play e-flat clarinet; 1 may play bass clarinet)
3 bassoons (1 may play contrabassoon)
4 horns
4 trumpets
2 tenor trombones
1 bass trombone
1 tuba
1 harp
1 keyboard (piano and/or celeste, but only one player)
1 timpani
4 percussion
strings - violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, bass (any further divisions should be handled
through divisi writing - see notes 2 and 10, below)
A total string count of 17.17.13.17.9 must be supplied when you turn in your parts.
If your piece calls for a vocal or instrumental soloist, it is YOUR responsibility to procure the
soloist, do all advance preparatory work with the soloist, and check with the Ensemble Office
and Maestro Murai far in advance to ensure that your selected soloist is acceptable.
3) Score:
a) Two copies of the score will need to be submitted at the time of the deadline.
b) Before the first page of music, and bound into the score, each score must include
an instrumentation sheet which lists every instrument called for in the score, as well
as the duration of the work.
c) The score must be double-sided, bound, completely legible, and the music must be
large enough for the conductor to be able to read all parts clearly from the podium.
10” x 13” is the smallest acceptable size, and somewhere between 11" x 14" and 11" x 17"
is generally best. Scores must not be printed on 8 ½” x 11" paper. Any score which is not
legible or large enough will be returned to the composer for reformatting.
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d) Make sure to indicate in the upper left hand corner of the first page whether the score is
transposed or in concert pitch.
e) All scores submitted should be in final form, not works in progress. Errata
discovered while formatting parts may be fixed (and if this happens, you will need to supply
2 copies of the revised score immediately upon completion), but no further work should be
done on the composition itself once it has been submitted.
4) Parts:
a) A complete set of parts must be submitted to the Ensemble Office by no later than 12:00
noon on the specified date.
If your parts are not turned in on time, your piece will not receive a reading.
b) All parts, unless consisting of only one page, must be formatted in booklet form;
accordion-style parts are not acceptable. Booklets can be created using tape, binding
combs, or saddle (not edge) staples at the composer’s discretion, but should not use any
presentation binding systems that do not allow parts to stay open. Do not put clear plastic
covers on your parts, and do not print them on card stock. Any booklets which start with a
blank first page must have the composer’s name, title of the work, and part name printed on
the front.
c) You must supply us with a complete set of parts. This means a separate part for every
woodwind, brass, and percussion player, and a total string count of 17.17.13.17.9. Do not
submit parts which have more than one instrumental part on them (such as Clarinet 1
and 2, for instance), as any such parts will be rejected.
d) For woodwind and brass instruments which are available in a variety of keys, such as
trumpets, horns, and clarinets, make sure that the transposition of the instrument is clearly
indicated in the score and parts.
Please also note that all of Peabody's large
ensemble readings are limited to works which have
not been previously read or performed, and which
are not commissioned works.
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SUGGESTIONS: The following guidelines, while not requirements, are, for the most part, standard
practice, and adhering to them will greatly improve the chances that you will get a good reading of
your piece in the very limited time available. Remember that each piece will receive, on average,
about 40 minutes of the ensemble’s time, and any time which is wasted answering questions which
result from unclear parts and the like will detract from the actual time spent rehearsing each piece.
1) All parts should be as legible and clear as possible; sloppy parts are not only difficult to read, but
they also undermine the musicians’ confidence in the composer, which may affect their
performance. The parts must also be large enough for the players to read from. The standard size
of orchestral parts is 10" x 13". Parts printed on 8 1/2" by 11" paper are only acceptable if the print
is large enough to be easily read by the performers. Your parts should make it absolutely clear to
the players what is expected from them; if they have to ask questions, then your parts have not
been properly prepared and precious rehearsal time will be wasted. If you have any questions
about how instrumental parts should be prepared or laid out, please feel free to stop by the
Ensemble Office and we would be glad to offer advice or show you some typical parts.
2. Divisi string parts which are contrapuntal in nature or which involve double-, triple-, or quadruplestops should be expanded to more than one staff to minimize confusion on the part of the players
(but see also no. 10, below).
3. It would be best if you do not use your orchestral reading as an opportunity to explore nonstandard notational practices, microtonal writing, or extended instrumental techniques such as
multiphonics. If there is something unusual which you would like to try, please make sure that you
consult with the conductor and/or the Ensemble Office before submitting your score.
4. It is very important that you provide adequate rehearsal numbers or letters. You should strive to
make it easy for the conductor to start the orchestra at any point in the piece with a minimum of
difficulty - this is perhaps the greatest time-saving step you can take. Using rehearsal numbers
which correspond directly to measure numbers is probably the most sensible (and effective)
method, and they should be used liberally; it’s better to use too many than too few. Place them at
points corresponding to beginnings of phrases, important entrances, or passages where it is most
likely that the conductor would want to start the orchestra. Some composers put rehearsal numbers
every 10 measures.
MAKE SURE THAT THE SCORE AND ALL OF THE PARTS HAVE THE SAME REHEARSAL
NUMBERS. If you use a program such as Finale which can easily place measure numbers at the
beginning of each line of music, that’s fine, but you should also use specific rehearsal numbers (or
letters) at key points which will be consistent from part to part. It’s very important that the rehearsal
numbers be included in parts where the instruments have lengthy sections of rests. You should
never have parts where there will be extremely long multi-measure rests which are not broken up by
rehearsal numbers. Rehearsal numbers should be enclosed in a box or circle.
5. Make sure that all fermatas are notated with rhythmic precision in all parts. If a certain instrument
isn’t playing in a measure where a fermata is located, don’t just put a whole rest with a fermata over
it. If the fermata happens to fall on, say, the “and of 2,” it should be located on the “and of 2" in
every part. This makes it much easier for the players to follow the conductor.
6. Use great care in laying out your parts to ensure that every right-hand page ends with a period of
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rest so that the players have a place to turn the page. This may occasionally mean that you will put
less than a full page of music on the right-hand page to facilitate the page turn. If a player will need
to start playing again immediately upon turning the page, this should be indicated at the bottom of
the preceding page with a V.S. (volti subito). On a related note, in sections of music which fall
between repeat marks, it is best if your parts are laid out so that a player will not have to turn back a
page to get to the start of a repeated section.
7. Make liberal use of “courtesy accidentals” at points where it may be unclear or confusing as to
whether or not an accidental or natural from the preceding note or measure carries over. But don’t
overdo it - overuse of courtesy accidentals can really clutter up the part and make it more difficult,
not easier, to read. Remember, you should strive to make every facet of your piece as clear as
possible to the musicians playing it.
8. It is extremely helpful, and is standard practice, to provide players with several measures of
cued notes preceding entrances which follow lengthy sections of rest or sections which might be
difficult to count. This will help them if they’ve lost count of how many measures of rest have
elapsed, and they will also come in more confidently if they’re sure that they’re in the right place.
Make sure to select prominently audible passages for your cued notes. Cued notes must always
indicate by what instrument they are being played. Make sure that your cued notes are distinctly
discernible from the real notes! Cued notes should generally be about 60% of the size of regular
notes, with their stems going in the opposite direction from which is normal, and a floating whole
rest should be included above (or below, as appropriate) every measure of cued notes.
9. When a player is resting for more than a measure or two, group the rests together into multimeasure rests. Players should never have to count long chains of single-measure rests. But
again, remember to break the multi-measure rests up with frequent use of rehearsal numbers.
Multimeasure rests must, of course, only include measures all in the same meter.
10. When writing for in the strings, do not split the string section into more than the
standard 5 subdivisions, but rather expand the number of staves on the part as necessary to
show all parts as a divisi. In other words, don't write parts for Cello I, Cello II, and Cello III, for
instance, but rather create a 3-way divisi in the one cello part. It is helpful for the players to see
what the rest of the people in their sections are playing, and having the entire divisi in each part
allows the conductor to balance the various parts by reassigning individual players as necessary.
This is also standard orchestral notation practice.
11. TAKE THE TIME TO PROOF YOUR PARTS !! If your parts are full of mistakes, a great deal
of valuable rehearsal time will be wasted, and the musicians will be less inclined to give the piece
their best efforts.
12. You are encouraged to come listen to rehearsals of the various ensembles so that you may
become familiar with the forces at your disposal.
13. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to bring them to the Ensemble Office and we
will be happy to offer advice.
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