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Oct 16

Announcing the 2021 Commissioning Competition and Grants

Dear IDRS members,

Following the recent announcement of the new works the Society has commissioned from world-renowned composers Reena Esmail, Tania León, and Sean Shepherd to be premiered at our 50th anniversary conference in Boulder, CO, IDRS is excited to announce further details about the 50 for 50 Commissioning Project.

The project has the following goals:

  1. To commission 50 new compositions for double reeds over the next five years in celebration of the International Double Reed Society’s 50th Anniversary.
  2. To broaden and deepen the diversity of voices in, and repertoire for, the double reed playing community.
  3. To present a series of IDRS-commissioned world-premiere concerts and recitals over the course of the next five IDRS conferences, beginning with the 2021 conference in Boulder, CO.
  4. To promote a spirit of togetherness, artistic enrichment, and celebration for the project, the conference, and IDRS.

In addition to the commissions already announced, seven additional commissions will be supported in 2021 through Commissioning Grants and a Commissioning Competition, all of which will be judged by a panel of diverse artists and awarded exclusively to composers who are women, Black, Indigenous, people of color (Latinx, Asian, Middle-Eastern, etc), ethnic minorities, and/or gender non-conforming. The selected composers’ works will be performed by a diverse group of double reed players on concerts during the 2021 IDRS Conference in Boulder, Colorado (USA) and as part of an exciting array of digital events sponsored by IDRS. Here are the details of the competition and grant programs.

Competition

Through a Commissioning Competition, IDRS will commission four (4) composers to write new works for double reeds and piano. Each commission will receive a $1000 prize and receive its premiere at the 2021 conference in Boulder, CO (USA). See 2021 Competition Details below.

Additionally, all commissions in the 2021 Competition will be awarded to composers who are women, Black, Indigenous, people of color (Latinx, Asian, Middle-Eastern, etc), ethnic minorities, and/or gender non-conforming.

Grants

Three (3) Commissioning Grants of $1,000 each will be awarded to 2021 Conference recital applicants whose accepted proposals include the commissioning and premiere of at least one new work for a double reed instrument(s); this money must be used to assist in the fulfillment of the composer’s fee. These grants will be given towards the commissioning of composers who are women, Black, Indigenous, people of color (Latinx, Asian, Middle-Eastern, etc), ethnic minorities, and/or gender non-conforming.