Welcome Christmas Carol Contest

VocalEssence & American Composers Forum announce the 15th annual Welcome Christmas Carol Contest for for chorus and concert (soprano) flute

POSTMARK DEADLINE: August 3, 2012

The custom of singing Christmas carols brings joy to the holiday season unlike any other tradition.  And every December VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum celebrate this tradition in their own unique way: championing today’s composers, exploring new works, and rediscovering lesser-known works of the past.

This year marks the fifteenth year of the Welcome Christmas Carol Contest as VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum provide composers with the opportunity to compose a modern-day carol.

Open to composers of all ages, this year’s contest requires writing a carol for SATB chorus accompanied by concert C flute.  Each year, the contest has produced wonderful new settings of familiar texts and carols based on existing poems and original texts, each year with a different instrument.

The two winners will each receive a prize of $1,000, and the winning carols will be premiered at the December 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9, 2012 Welcome Christmas concerts featuring the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers.  The performances will be recorded for national broadcast in 2013 via American Public Media.  The winners are invited to attend the rehearsals and performances at their own expense, and will have the opportunity for radio interviews as well as other media coverage and promotion.

2012 Contest Guidelines

Download Guidelines/Application

Past Contest Winners 1998-2010

2007 npr.org/music story on the Welcome Christmas Carol Contest