News

James Bond composer David Arnold joins judges

We’re delighted to announce that David Arnold – the composer for many James Bond films including the upcoming Quantum of Solace – has joined the star judging panel for this year’s Sibelius Student Composer of the Year.

David Arnold also wrote the music for cult television show Little Britain and a Grammy Award-winning score for the blockbuster Independence Day.

Entry upload system now open

If you've registered for the competition – you can now use the online upload system to submit your composition, or your students' compositions if you are their teacher. If you haven't registered yet, you can do so now.

Please ensure that you are uploading the very final, checked version of any composition because, unfortunately, a composition cannot be changed or replaced once uploaded.

Remember to upload your compositions by October 31st!

 

All Upper Sixth/year 13 students can now enter

We've extended the upper age limit in the 17–18 age category to enable everyone who will be 18 or under on August 31st (rather than October 31st) to enter.

Also, if you're 18, you are no longer required to be in full-time education on the deadline of October 31st. So if you're taking a gap year, or not going into higher education, that's fine.

 

Write for double bass and bassoon in Classical/Contemporary genre

By popular request we've added double bass and bassoon to the range of instruments you can write for in the Classical/Contemporary genre. So you can now compose for up to eight parts selected from violin (1 or 2), viola, cello, piano, trumpet, flute, clarinet, French horn, double bass, bassoon and voice(s).

FAQs

Here are some answers to questions that we have received via email. If you have a query that is not answered here, please email us using the address at the bottom of these FAQs.

Will I be judged on the professionalism and layout of my score?

No, your piece will only be judged on the quality of the music. How you provide or present your piece is not a factor.

Will I stand a better chance if I use better quality sound libraries?

No, our judges will hear past the quality of the sounds used and focus solely on the composition itself.

I have registered, but when will I actually be able to upload my entry (or my students' entries)?

You will be able to upload your composition (or students' entries) through www.sibelius.com soon. We will email you as soon as the upload facility is open.

How do I upload my entry (or my students' entries)?

As soon as the upload facility is open (you will receive an email), go to www.sibelius.com/studentcomposer and follow the easy instructions.

Can I be entered into more than one genre?

No, for judging reasons, we can only accept one entry per student, and a piece can only be put forward into one genre – Film, Classical/Contemporary or Jazz.

Can I submit a piece I have written for exam coursework?

Yes, that's absolutely fine.

Can I compose for voice in the Classical/Contemporary and Jazz categories?

Yes, voice will be treated as one of our eight instruments (or more, if you are writing for more than one voice part) . You can write for up to eight voice parts, but that will mean you have used up all your parts and cannot use any other instruments.

In the Classical/Contemporary and Jazz categories, can I write, say, four different parts for violin?

Yes, that's fine. As long as your total number of parts does not exceed eight, you can allocate them wherever you like.

There's a glitch in the 'Game' video, towards the end

Thank you to everyone who emailed in about this. We've now replaced the video files with ones that don't glitch. They are here.

I am in the USA or Australia, can I enter?

Sibelius USA are running the same competition in the US, but starting later in the year. Sibelius Australia are currently running their own competition – visit www.sibelius.com and set your country to be Australia (using the link at the bottom of the page) to find out more.

In the Jazz genre, how will improvisation be treated?

You are welcome to include improvisation in your Jazz entry. However, because improvisation can be thought of as composition from someone other than the main composer (i.e. the player), here’s how we’ll take account of it:

If you are submitting a score you can write out improvisation as notation and it will be taken into account as part of the actual composition, rather than just an element of the arrangement. Similarly, if you are using a sequencer to create an audio file, you can sequence the improvised section and it will be judged in the same way.

Alternatively – if you are submitting a score – you can mark the word ‘improvisation’ on the score, rather than write out an improvised section in notes. This will then be judged as an element of the arrangement, and the composition will be judged just on the main theme (often referred to as ‘the head’). In a similar vein, if you are using a sequencer to create an audio file, you can leave a gap for a certain instrument(s) and submit an accompanying Microsoft Word or text document that says when improvisation would occur in the piece. You can do this easily using the dual-file upload facility offered by the website.

Finally, if you are submitting a live recording of your piece (either fully live or a sequence with real instruments added) we’ll need you to upload an accompanying document that says which parts of the piece were improvised.

What file formats are accepted?

Details of acceptable file formats can be found on the registration page.

What are the Terms and Conditions of the competition?

The Terms and Conditions can be found on the registration page.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, feel free to email studentcomposer@sibelius.com