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Magnum Opus: A New Composer’s Competition
The Symphony of the Mountains and the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts at East
Tennessee State University have established the Magnum Opus: A New
Composer’s Competition to highlight the quality of the performing arts
throughout the southern Appalachian region. The two-fold purpose of the
competition is to encourage the composition of new original works and to have
new work performed by a professional symphony orchestra.
Symphony of the Mountains has a strong and proud heritage. The orchestra
began in 1946 when a small group of musicians dreamed of having a civic
orchestra. At the time, it was known as Kingsport Symphony Orchestra. Twentyseven musicians attended the first rehearsal. Today, Symphony of the Mountains
is a fully-professional orchestra, with more than 90 professional musicians
serving the entire Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia region. The
Symphony of the Mountains organization includes Voices of the Mountains, a 70member auditioned community chorus, directed by Dr. W. Patrick Flannagan, the
60-member Youth Orchestra and the two 48-member Primo Philharmonic
Program ensembles under the direction of Ross Bader.
The Mary B. Martin School of the Arts was implemented in January 2009 with the
purpose of providing a focal point and recognition for the arts at East Tennessee
State University. The school was established following a generous endowment to
name the school for Mary B. Martin, a life-long resident of Johnson City and
graduate of ETSU (B.A. Chemistry, 1962). Now in its third season, the Mary B.
Martin School of the Arts provides a full schedule of visual arts exhibitions and
lectures; music, storytelling, theater, and dance performances; film screenings
and other opportunities for communities throughout Northeast Tennessee.
RULES AND REGULATIONS:

Participants must be a resident or student in one of the following states: Kentucky, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia.

Participants must be 18 years of age or older.

Deadline to submit application and work is Monday, January 16, 2012.

Only one submission per composer is eligible for consideration. If a composer submits
more than one work, the composition that is received first will be the eligible work.
GUIDELINES:
All submitted works must adhere to the following guidelines to be eligible for
consideration. Any work submitted that does not adhere to these guidelines may be
automatically disqualified.
Duration
The submitted work must be between 5 and 10 minutes in length.
Orchestration
The maximum orchestration for compositions may not exceed the following:
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, 1 Tuba, 1
Timpani, 1 Percussion, Strings.
While the above listing is the maximum allowable orchestration, submitted compositions do not
need to use the maximums listed to be eligible. However, soloists will not be considered.
Originality
Submitted works must be created solely by the registered composer. The submitted piece is to be
completely original and not based on any pre-existing musical material. However, it may be
written “after” something (i.e. inspired by another source such as a play, poem, novel, film, etc.).
Any copyright issues must be handled by the composer. The Symphony of the Mountains and
Mary B. Martin School of the Arts bear no responsibility in the event of any copyright violations
or infringements on the part of the composer.
The piece that is chosen for performance must not have been performed previously and may not
have been the winner of any other competition.
Formatting
Submitted scores must be legible and in full score format. The Major Orchestra Librarian’s
Association (MOTA) guidelines will be the recognized authority on formatting for this
competition.
Additional Requirements
Rehearsal recordings or synthesized mock-ups of the composition for consideration must be
submitted at the time of entry.
The Symphony of the Mountains and Mary B. Martin School of the Arts will retain performance
and recording rights for the work for one year following the world premiere.
Application Submission Fee
A submission fee of thirty dollars ($30) payable to Symphony of the Mountains is required at the
time of submission. Money Orders or Personal checks are acceptable. Please do not send cash.
AWARD:
The winner of the competition will have their composition performed in the “World Premiere
Concert”. The winning piece will open the concert, followed by the world premiere of Mark
Harrell's Euphonium Concerto and Sibelius Symphony No. 1.
The “World Premiere Concert” will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. in the Toy F.
Reid Eastman Employee Center located in Kingsport, Tennessee
In addition, a financial award of $1,000 will be granted to the winner. There will also be limited
financial assistance towards preparation of written materials and copying of parts for the winner
of the competition.
JUDGING PROCESS:
The 2012 Judging Panelists are as follow:

Kenton Coe, Award Winning Composer

Mark Harrell, Professor of Music at Carson-Newman College and Hornist with Knoxville
Symphony Orchestra

Maria Niederberger, Professor of Music Theory and Composition at East Tennessee State
University and accomplished composer

Anita DeAngelis, Director, Mary B. Martin School of the Arts and Associate Dean of the
Arts at East Tennessee State University

Cornelia Laemmli Orth, Conductor and COO of Symphony of the Mountains
The Symphony of the Mountains reserves the right to not declare a winner if no submitted
works are deemed qualified.
PLEASE SEND SUBMISSIONS TO:
Symphony of the Mountains
Attention Cornelia Laemmli Orth
1200 E. Center Street
Kingsport, TN 37660
Composers requesting to have their scores and CD’s returned must include a self-addressed and
stamped envelope with their submission.
SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Completed Score
Recording
Application Form
Submission Fee (Money orders or checks only)
Self addressed stamped envelope (optional)