Call for Scores: Works for Voice

With the generous support from the SOCAN Foundation The Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects announces a Call-for-Scores of works for voice (including works for voice and piano, score reductions, etc) for inclusion in the Contemporary Showcase Syllabus.

The Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects (ACNMP) is an organization dedicated to the promotion of Canadian contemporary music. Throughout our history, it has been our mission to encourage teachers to teach Canadian contemporary music, to motivate students to study and perform this music, and to encourage Canadian composers to write music for students of all levels from the most junior to the paraprofessional.

Our Mission is to commission, promote, and preserve Canadian contemporary music as a cornerstone of our national heritage by fostering its performance among students, teachers, and performers through education, festivals, and workshops.

Contemporary Showcase

Presented annually by ACNMP for the past 54 years, Contemporary Showcase is a national non-competitive festival featuring 100% Canadian contemporary works taking place in twelve centres across four provinces. Contemporary Showcase is wholly educational and inclusive, and aims to develop and disseminate Canadian compositions. 

ACNMP has compiled a wide-ranging and varied syllabus of over 2,200 Canadian works for a variety of solo instruments (from piano to double bass to soprano saxophone) and ensembles (from brass quintet and string quartet to full-sized choirs and wind bands) spanning over 100 years. These works are scrutinized pedagogically by ACNMP’s repertoire reviewers and divided into different levels for students to study, present and perform in a master class format for expert adjudicators.

Call-for-Scores: Voice

Submissions to the Contemporary Showcase syllabus should ideally:

  • Have musical, educational, and pedagogical value for both teacher and performer
  • Contain new ideas or techniques introduced or presented in a novel or interesting way
  • Strike an appropriate balance between composition length and difficulty, keeping the skill and ability level of the intended performer in mind
  • Represent and/or contribute to the cultural fabric of Canada

Composers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Please carefully read submission details from the documents below. Fill out and submit to info@acnmp.ca.

Deadline is December 31, 2023.

Submission for Syllabus Evaluation Form

*Please note that an ACNMP Membership is not a requirement to submit to the Call-for-Scores; however, the membership fee does help off-set our administrative costs and there is a new special rate for composers!

Meet Our Board of Directors: Peter Sudbury

Peter Sudbury has enjoyed a career mix of playing his French Horn, Arts Administration, and Education. A graduate of York University he studied under notable Canadian musicians: hornist James MacDonald and bassoonist James Mackay. From there he was diverted by Arts Administration serving as the Director of the Performing Arts Office at Queen’s University and the first General Manager of Showplace Peterborough. While at Queen’s he brought to the Kingston stages such world-renowned artists like: hornist Hermann Baumann, soprano Emma Kirkby, The King’s Singers, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. It was during this time he was asked to be a Juror for the Juno Awards and the Ontario Arts Council.

After amusing himself with such a past time he went on to care for his family and continued to participate in his home community of Peterborough with membership in the Boards of the Peterborough Symphony and the Peterborough Concert Association.

As General Manager of Showplace Peterborough he opened and managed the operation of the theatre and programmed concerts by acclaimed artists like Michael Burgess, Carol Welsmann, and Blue Rodeo.

For the past 15 years or so, Peter was an educator teaching elementary school in the Peterborough area, as well as conducting the Peterborough Concert Band and a variety of musicals from Anything Goes to Les Misérables.

AGM: September 17th

Our annual AGM is taking place online on September 17th at 11AM Eastern. If you are a member of the ACNMP you are invited to join and give us your thoughts and feedback. If you aren’t a member it’s easy to join and we would love to hear from you! Email info@acnmp.ca for the meeting link or more information. See you next week!

Composer Spotlight: Bryan Malito

As part of our project to update our syllabus we are adding new works for brass and percussion. We would like to feature some of the composers that we are adding and help promote their hard work. Meet Bryan Malito!

Bryan Frank Malito was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He is the son of Patrick Malito, a music educator and pianist born in Grimaldi, Italy. Having full access to musical instruments from his father’s private music academy, he demonstrated a love for drums and percussion instruments at an early age. Throughout his early years, he performed in local concert bands, orchestras, and contemporary ensembles. As a music educator for London District Catholic School Board, Malito continued to be an active student and performer. He studied percussion with D’Arcy Gray, Salvatore Rabbio, Louis Charbonneau, Charles Dowd, Jean Norman Deluca, Dr. Russell Hartenberger. Bryan has performed with Orchestra London, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, National Academy Orchestra, Brassroots, Intrada Brass, and the London Symphonia. In 2014, he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts at Boston University.

During his doctoral studies, Malito explored the possibilities of critical thinking within the context of world percussion music education. During his research, it was possible to identify the phenomenon of conscientization through pedagogical of teaching authenticity, dialogical inquiry, dialectical thinking, and critical praxis. As a result, this research forged the mid-ranged theory of critical multicultural music education (CMME).

Malito’s percussion compositions are used for educational purposes. Specifically, these works strengthen students’ technical proficiency and musicianship. While smaller compositions focus on recital performances, Malito’s large percussion ensemble compositions are meant for the percussion classroom, having a full complement of mallet keyboard instruments (i.e., glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and chimes). In addition, these classroom ensemble pieces have greater utility in the music classroom, having optional parts for less experience players. Visit bryanmalito.com for percussion teaching resources and compositions.

Bryan’s works Matekpo for marimba, and Mosaic Rhythms for percussion ensemble are being added to the ACNMP syllabus. Thank you!