New Music Workshops | Black House Collective

The 2022 Black House New Music Soloist Competition

Soloist: $500 prize

Composition: $500 prize

In the interest of promoting excellence in new music performance, BHC is proud to present the 2022 Soloist Competition. This award is for outstanding technical and artistic achievement in the performance and production of new instrumental solo works.

Finalists will be featured on the BHC YouTube channel and the winning performer and composition will each be awarded the $500 prize and eternal glory.

Deadlines 

All entries are due by December 1. See details on submission requirements below.

Rules & Details 

• New works for soloist or soloist with electronics will be considered.
• The work must have been composed in 2022.
• School and festival performances are acceptable.
• The competition is fully online and no travel is required.
• All acoustic instruments are encouraged to participate. Vocalists will not be considered for this iteration of the competition.
• There is no application fee.
• Composers are allowed to play their own works.
• One performance will be chosen as the competition winner; the performer and composer of that performance will each win a prize.
• Selections and winners will be made by early December.

Submission Requirements

Submit a Google Drive link named lastname_blackhouse with your video by December 1.

In your submission email, include:

• the name of the piece 
• PDF of the score
• personal information for both performer and composer
• name, city and state of residence, brief bio, and a headshot  

All applications must be submitted to [email protected]

Video Guidelines

The video must be one continuous take with no overdubbing or cuts. Multiple cameras are fine as long as it is completely clear that all material is from one performance. This is not a competition for best video production. While it is advantageous to make videos as high quality as possible, participants will be evaluated on their performance.  

Eligibility

Only participants currently residing in North America are eligible.

Composers

This is a soloist competition. The composition played by the winning performer will be the winning composition.

2022 Black House Workshop Performance at USC

 

 

Congratulations to the participants of the 2022 Workshop

Watch the full performance here.

 

Black House 2022 Workshop Performance

 

The 2022 Workshop will be having our performance of 5 world premieres on June 8th at 7:00pm at Cammilleri Hall at the University of Southern California.

3620 McClintock Ave Los Angeles, CA

Admission is free!

2022 Black House New Music Workshop Participants

We're excited to announce the performers and composers selected for the 2022 Black House New Music Workshop in Los Angeles!

Workshop Ensemble

Conductor- Adam Karelin, Los Angeles, CA

 

Flute- Teresa Diaz de Cossio, Mexico/United States

Oboe- Victoria Lee, Huntington Beach, CA

Saxophone- Sarah Hetrick, Laredo, TX

Trumpet- Kenken Gorder, Austin, TX

 

Percussion- Milton Salazar, Ontario, CA

Harp- Melissa Achten Klausner, Los Angeles, CA

Piano- Andrew Anderson, Los Angeles, CA

 

Violin- Patti Kilroy, Los Angeles, CA

Violin- Xenia Deviatkina-Loh, Sydney, Australia

Violin- Grace Lindsay, San Clemente, CA

 

Viola- Emma Antonides, Los Angeles, CA

Viola- Ash Mach, Woodbridge, VA

Viola- Celka Ojakangas, Los Angeles, CA

 

Composers

 

Lilac Atassi, Los Angeles, CA

Elisabet Curbelo, Canary Islands

Zach Gulaboff Davis, Jersey City, NJ

Vasiliki Krimitza, New York City, NY

Hunter Long, Los Angeles, CA

Celka Ojakangas, Los Angeles, CA

 

Black House SoCal 2022

Call for Musicians

The Black House Collective will be hosting its 21th new music workshop in Los Angeles, California. This workshop will take place at the University of Southern California.

The goal of the Black House Workshops is to create a supportive laboratory for musicians to connect and support each while creating new music. Participation in the workshop is completely free and there is no application fee. Participants are responsible for their own travel and lodging.  

Workshop Details

Musicians may apply as performing or composing residents. All residents will meet for a three-day intensive on the UCSC campus June 6th-8th. 

The format will be the same:

Monday - rehearsals

Tuesday - rehearsals

Wednesday - dress rehearsal and performance

Performing Resident Information

Performing residents will be selected to be part of a chamber ensemble. Players are expected to play at a high level and to have prepared the music before the workshop. There is a piano available and percussionists must be able to bring their own equipment.

Composing Resident Information

Composing residents will write a new 10-12 minute piece for the entire workshop ensemble (no subsets) and assist with tech and documentation for the entire workshop. The instrumentation of the ensemble will be made available shortly after artist selection. Finished compositions with parts must be provided by May 25th in order to receive feedback, make any necessary revisions and give the performers time to prepare. 

Dates

• March 30: applications due
• Apri 4: acceptances sent
• May 25: scores and parts submitted
• June 6-8: rehearsals
• June 8: ending performance

 

HOW TO APPLY

Composers

Please submit to [email protected]:

• CV
• 2 recent scores with 2 corresponding links(please do not submit audio or video files) to recordings/video
• short proposal of what you would be interested in writing for the workshop.

Performers

Please submit to [email protected]:

• CV
• 2 links to recordings or videos of performances that demonstrate your skill and experience with new music. One piece from a living composer and one solo piece are preferred but not a requirement.
• A short paragraph about your new music experience

2021 Black House New Music Soloist Competition Winners

BHC is happy to announce that violinist Lilit Hartunian is the winner of our first soloist competition. She plays the winning composition "Soliloquy for Solo Violin" by Andrew List.

After a difficult year with few opportunities to gather together to make music, it was incredibly heartening to see the many wonderful new works for soloist written in 2021. Over 60 solo works were submitted and the selection was very competitive.

Finalists

1. Lilit Hartunian, Violin    Andrew List, Composer                 
2. Will Yager, Contrabass    Douglas Osmun, Composer             
3. Andrew Anderson, Piano    Erich Barganier, Composer
4. Stephen Tian-You Ai, Toy Piano    Kyle Miller, Composer
5. Julia Lougheed, Bass Clarinet    Gabo Champagne, Composer
6. Anna Mach, Viola    Joshua Muetzal, Composer
7. Kyra Davies, Violin    Michael Goodman, Composer
8. Lisa Yoshida, Violin, Composer
9. Raina Arnett, Violin    Nathan Bales, Composer
10. Christopher Jessup, Piano, Composer
11. Erik Schmidt, Percussion    Steve Landis, Composer

 

Videos of the finalists' pieces will be available on the BHC Youtube page shortly.

Congrats to everyone who participated. 

 

 

The 2021 Black House New Music Soloist Competition

THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED

Soloist: $500 prize

Composition: $500 prize

In the interest of promoting excellence in new music performance, BHC is proud to present the 2021 Soloist Competition. This award is for outstanding technical and artistic achievement in the performance and production of new instrumental solo works.

Finalists will be featured on the BHC YouTube channel and the winning performer and composition will each be awarded the $500 prize and eternal glory.

 

Jurors

• Lina Andonovska - Flute, Eighth Blackbird
• David Byrd-Marrow - Horn, International Contemporary Ensemble 
• Vicky Chow - Piano, Bang on a Can All Stars

 

Deadlines 

All entries are due by December 1. See details on submission requirements below.

  

Rules & Details 

• New works for soloist or soloist with electronics will be considered.
• The work must have been composed in 2021 and must not have had a professional premiere.
• School and festival performances are acceptable.
• The competition is fully online and no travel is required.
• All acoustic instruments are encouraged to participate. Vocalists will not be considered for this iteration of the competition.
• There is no application fee.
• Composers are allowed to play their own works.
• One performance will be chosen as the competition winner; the performer and composer of that performance will each win a prize.
• Selections and winners will be made by early December.

Submission Requirements

Submit a Google Drive link named lastname_blackhouse with your video by December 1.

In your submission email, include:

• the name of the piece 
• PDF of the score
• personal information for both performer and composer
• name, city and state of residence, brief bio, and a headshot  

All applications must be submitted to [email protected]

 

Video Guidelines

The video must be one continuous take with no overdubbing or cuts. Multiple cameras are fine as long as it is completely clear that all material is from one performance. This is not a competition for best video production. While it is advantageous to make videos as high quality as possible, participants will be evaluated on their performance.  

 

Eligibility

Due to the monetary prize, only participants currently residing in the U.S. are eligible.

 

Composers

This is a soloist competition. The composition played by the winning performer will be the winning composition.

Announcing Woodblok NFTs in Support of Black House Collective

This year has been one of incredible uncertainty for all of us in the arts. As we contemplate how to move forward in safe and creative ways, BHC has been considering how to leverage new technologies to better support and fund the arts. In the spirit of experimentation BHC has released our first batch of Non Fungible Art Tokens: the Woodblok NFTs!

 

All proceeds from Woodblok sales goes to support BHC’s ongoing work of new music programming. 

 

The NFT/Blockchain world is certainly a complicated and confusing space. While the ultimate viability of NFTs is still yet to be decided, the need to search for new ways to support the arts has never been more necessary. The Woodblok NFT project has been a fun way to learn about blockchain while dipping our toe into what cryptocurrencies could mean for supporting the arts. 

 

Visit https://opensea.io/collection/woodblok-art-tokens to purchase a token.

2020 Update

 

Black House is very grateful that we were able to put on a workshop this year at Oh My Ears before the pandemic. Unfortunately, like most organizations, we've had to postpone our projects for the rest of the 2020. We look forward to finding creative ways to support the production of new music in 2021! Stay safe and stay positive.

 

 

Black House at Oh My Ears 2020 Performance

Congratulations to the participants of the 2020 Workshop at Oh My Ears.

Watch the full performance here.