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Franco contests for Composers

The GCNA Johan Franco Committee is pleased to announce two Franco Contests for 2023:

  1. 2023 Franco Proposal Contest (geared towards composers that are newer to the carillon or are looking for more of a collaborative process) - deadline was June 1, 2022 - jump to results announcement

  2. 2023 Franco Composition Contest (structured in the same way as previous Franco Contests) - deadline was November 1, 2022 - jump to results announcement


2023 Franco Composition Contest

Two monetary prizes (US$2,000 for first place and US$1,000 for second place) will be awarded, in addition to a number of performance awards (US$150) made solely at the Committee's discretion. The GCNA will publish the first and second place compositions, and performance award compositions will be given the option of GCNA publication. All compositions awarded prizes and performance recognition will have the opportunity to be performed at the GCNA Congress in 2023.

Eligibility: The contest is open to all, regardless of age or nationality (except: 1) current members of the Franco Committee may not enter the submission-based contest; 2) the first-prize winner of the 2021 Franco contest may not enter the 2023 contest; 3) the two composers selected in the Proposal Contest below may not enter this contest).

Submissions: Composers are asked to submit original compositions, not arrangements or transcriptions of existing works. Each composer may submit only one work. Compositions can be of any duration. Many carillon pieces tend to be 3-6 minutes in length. The jury does not favour entries based on duration.

The composition must be playable by a solo carillonneur on a four-octave carillon: 48 bells (c, d, ... chromatic to c4 with low C# omitted), with a 2-octave pedalboard (c, d, ...  c2). Composers may wish to limit their pedalboard to 1.5 octaves (cod, ... chromatic to g1), as many carillons (particularly European standard) do not include pedals above g1. Notating bells outside of the 48-bell range is permitted provided that substitutions are given in the 48-bell range. Compositions that have already been performed or published are ineligible. Public performance of any winning composition prior to the 2023 GCNA congress will be grounds for disqualification.

Submissions must be received by November 1, 2022. Composers may submit works via email to Joey Brink at franco@gcna.org. Submissions will be anonymized for the jury. Please do not include your name or any identifying information on the composition itself. Instead, please separately include your contact information.

Composing for the Carillon: Composers less familiar with the carillon can learn more from:

  1. "Composing for the Carillon: Recommendations and Examples" by John Gouwens: links to the PDF document and the corresponding video.
  2. "Composing for Carillon" by Joey Brink: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/composing-for-carillon/ 


Prizes:
The jury guarantees the awarding of both First Prize and Second Prize. The jury reserves the right to award any number of Performance Awards. Each composition can only receive one of the three prizes.

First prize: US$2,000. Premiered at the 2023 congress.
Second prize: US$1,000. Premiered at the 2023 congress.
Performance Awards: US$150. May be awarded at the discretion of the Franco Committee to any number of submitted compositions that, if the composer wishes, will be published and premiered at the 2023 congress.

Publication & Copyright: First and second prize-winning compositions will be published by the GCNA in accordance with its generally applicable rules. Thus, by entering the contest, entrants agree to sign over publishing rights to the GCNA if awarded first or second prize. Performance awards will be given the option for publication.

The composers who receive first prize and second prize will be required: (a) To assign to the GCNA all publication rights of the composition; and (b) To warrant to the GCNA that the composition does not violate any existing copyright in whole or in part, and that she/he/they have the lawful right to authorize publication of the composition. If the composer has any arrangement with any performing rights organizations, such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN, and the like, the composer will be required to instruct the affiliated organization not to collect performance fees solely on the basis of this composition. (In some cases, this may entail waiving rights to performance royalties.) First and second prize-winning compositions will be published and distributed by the GCNA. Composers that receive Performance Awards will be offered publication with the GCNA if they wish. Compositions that do not win a prize will remain the sole property of the composer. Judges' copies of the compositions will be destroyed following the contest.

The Jury: The seven voting members of the Franco Committee serve as the jury in this contest: Margaret Angelini, Linda Dzuris, Alex Johnson, Thomas Lee, Scott Orr, Tiffany Ng, and Charles Zettek. The jury will evaluate submissions based on their effectiveness on the carillon, playability, originality, and general musical interest.

To preserve anonymity of the composers, we ask that composers refrain from contacting, directly or indirectly, any members of the jury. Questions may be directed to Joey Brink at franco@gcna.org.

Key Dates:

November 1, 2022: Submissions due to franco@gcna.org
March 1, 2023: Announcement of prizes
June 2023: Scores published and premiered at 2023 GCNA congress

Results Announcement

The GCNA Johan Franco Committee is pleased to announce the results of the 2023 Franco Composition Contest. The committee received 34 submissions this year. All materials were anonymized for the jury. The winning pieces will all be published by the GCNA and premiered at the 2023 congress in Cohasset. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

  • First prize:  Four Reflections, by Joseph Fong
  • Second prize:  Moonlight, by Stefano Colletti
  • Performance Award:  Breezes by the Shore, by Jose Antonio C. Buencamino
  • Performance Award:  Equilibrium, by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra
  • Performance Award:  Birthday Fanfare, by Yanchen Ye
  • Performance Award:  Toccata, by Zachary Zaroogian



2023 Franco Proposal Contest

The Franco Committee seeks proposals by composers to compose new works for carillon. Two monetary prizes of US$2,000 each will be awarded for two new works to be composed. The GCNA will retain copyright and publication rights to both works. Selected composers will have the opportunity for their work to be performed at the GCNA Congress in 2023.

Eligibility: The contest is open to all, regardless of age or nationality (except current members of the Franco Committee). This Proposal Contest is geared more towards composers that are newer to the carillon, or are looking for more of a collaborative process with members of the Franco Committee to workshop or provide feedback while writing. Composers that have written extensively for carillon will generally not be considered for this proposal-based contest.

Submissions: Composers are asked to submit proposals that include:

  1. One to three sample scores demonstrating the composer’s best work in any genre, for any instrumentation. Optional sample recordings of the scores may also be submitted.
  2. Description of compositional experience (suggested 250 words or less)
  3. A statement by the composer (about 500-1000 words) detailing the ideas and direction of the proposed work. Sketches or images (e.g. motivic material, themes, compositional structure, etc.) may be submitted as well.

Each composer may only submit one proposal. Submissions will be anonymized for the jury.

The committee seeks proposals for original compositions, not arrangements or transcriptions of existing works. Proposed compositions can be of any duration. Many carillon pieces tend to be 3-6 minutes in length. The jury does not favor entries based on duration.

The proposed composition must be playable by a solo carillonneur on a four-octave carillon: 48 bells (c, d, ... chromatic to c4 with low C# omitted) with a 2-octave pedalboard (c, d, … c2). Composers may wish to limit their pedalboard to 1.5 octaves (c,d, … chromatic to g1), as many carillons (particularly European standard) do not include pedals above g1. Notating bells outside of the 48-bell range is permitted provided that substitutions are given in the 48-bell range. Compositions that have already been performed or published are ineligible. Public performance of any winning composition prior to the 2023 GCNA congress will be grounds for disqualification.

Proposals must be received by June 1, 2022. Proposals can be submitted to Joey Brink at franco@gcna.org.

Publication & Copyright: Compositions resulting from selected proposals will be published by the GCNA in accordance with its generally applicable rules. Thus, by entering the contest, entrants agree to sign over copyright and publishing rights to the GCNA if awarded first or second prize. Performance awards will be given the option for publication.    

The composers will be required: (a) To assign to the GCNA all publication rights of the composition; and (b) To warrant to the GCNA that the composition does not violate any existing copyright in whole or in part, and that she/he/they have the lawful right to authorize publication of the composition. If the composer has any arrangement with any performing rights organizations, such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN, and the like, the composer will be required to instruct the affiliated organization not to collect performance fees solely on the basis of this composition. (In some cases, this may entail waiving rights to performance royalties.) Compositions will be published and distributed by the GCNA.

The Jury: The seven voting members of the Franco Committee serve as the jury in this contest: Margaret Angelini, Linda Dzuris, Alex Johnson, Thomas Lee, Scott Orr, Tiffany Ng, and Charles Zettek. The jury will evaluate submissions based on their effectiveness on the carillon, playability, originality, and general musical interest.

To preserve anonymity of the composers, we ask that composers refrain from contacting, directly or indirectly, any members of the jury. Questions may be directed to Joey Brink at franco@gcna.org.

Key Dates:

June 1, 2022: Proposals due to franco@gcna.org.
August 1, 2022: Announcement of selected proposals.
February 1, 2023: Scores due from selected composers.
June 2023: Scores published and premiered at 2023 GCNA congress.

Results Announcement

The Franco Committee received 33 submissions to its first proposal-based composition contest. Submissions included prior works by the composers in any genre, and a statement by the composer of the proposed work. Submissions were anonymized for the jury. The jury selected two proposals to receive prizes, and the composers will now write the pieces over the coming months.

The two prizewinners are Pernille Faye and Joseph Klein.

Pernille Faye is a Norwegian/Irish composer based in London. She is currently in her first year at the Royal Academy of Music where she has been awarded a scholarship to study composition with Helen Grime and Morgan Hayes. She is the 2021 BDRS Composition Competition Under-19 Prize Winner. Her Jazz Sextet ‘Responsibility’ received an Honourable Mention in the Composers Concordance 11th Annual ‘Generations’ Composition Competition and she was a Martin Read Foundation Young Composer for 2019, 2020 and 2021, receiving commissions for their Festival of Contemporary Music and studying with Dr Pande Shahov and Ali Willis. Her music featured in the National Schools’ Symphony Orchestra’s Digital Celebration and in 2020 her piece ‘Principles of Structure’ was a double shortlisted entry in the BBC Young Composer Competition. Pernille explores many styles of composing including projects with percussion, electronics and field recordings, as well as the project ‘Rhapsody for Gibbons’ in collaboration with Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre, experimenting with the natural music of gibbon song alongside ‘human’ music and creating a work to help raise awareness of gibbon conservation. Check out Pernille's YouTube channel.

Joseph Klein is a composer of solo, chamber, and large ensemble works, including instrumental, vocal, electroacoustic, and intermedia compositions. His music reflects an ongoing interest in processes inspired by natural phenomena, often drawing upon literary sources and incorporating theatrical elements as part of the overall musical narrative. He holds degrees in composition from Indiana University, University of California, San Diego, and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and his composition teachers have included Harvey Sollberger, Claude Baker, Robert Erickson, and Roger Reynolds. Klein is currently Distinguished Teaching Professor and Chair of Composition Studies at the University of North Texas. Check out Joseph's website.


Previous Prizewinners

View all prizewinners to date in the GCNA Music Store or click on individual pieces below.

Prizes awarded to date are as follows:

2021

First prize: "Moto Perpetuo" by Geert D'hollander
Second prize: "Nine Vignettes for Carillon" by Joseph Fong
Performance Award: "Valse Triste" by Mary Beth Bennett
Performance Award: "Hinugot sa Hangin" by Jose Antonio C. Buencamino
Performance Award: "Tocsin" by David Maker
Performance Award: "At Rain-Starred Windows" by Tom Gurin
Performance Award: "Four Preludes for Carillon" by Michael Gancz 
Performance Award: "Festive Chime near the Cathedral" by Elizaveta Panchenko

2019 

1st prize: "A Butterfly's Dance" by Mathieu Daniel Polak
2nd prize: "Peacemakers" by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra
Performance Award: "Imaginary Dances" by Peter Paul Olejar
Performance Award: "as swiftly and fading as soon" by Julie Zhu 

2017 1st prize: "Pulsations" by Geert D’hollander
2nd prize: "Dandelion Field" by Mathieu Daniel Polak
Performance Award: "Grand Serenade for Carillon" by Lee Cobb
2014 No prize awarded.
2012 No prize awarded.
2010 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize (tied): "Légende" by Ennis Fruhauf
Second Prize (tied): "For the Planet with the Smallest Voice" by Gabriel Lubell
2008 First Prize: "Four Flourishes" by Geert D'hollander
Second Prize: (not awarded)
2006 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize: "Sonata" by Lee Cobb
2004 First Prize: "Sonata" by Neil Thornock
Second Prize: "Two Poems for Children" by Geert D'hollander
2002 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize: "Motorhythmia" by Neil Thornock
2000 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize: "Passacaglia Antiqua" by Geert D'hollander
1998 First Prize: "Modal Nocturne" by Geert D'hollander
Second Prize: "Passacaglia" by Ennis Fruhauf
1996 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize (tied): "Prelude con fughetta" by Marcel Siebers
Second Prize (tied): "Nocturne" by Ennis Fruhauf
1994 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize: "Cortège" by Olivia Margaret Ontko
1992 First Prize: (not awarded)
Second Prize: "Evocation" by John Courter
1990 No prize awarded.
1988 First Prize: "Oread Grounds" by Charles Hoag
Second Prize: "Gregorian Triptych" by John Courter


These prizewinners have been published by the GCNA. Other entries have also been published, but are not itemized here.


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