NCH & Sounding The Feminists
Awards Scheme

 

National Concert Hall and Sounding The Feminists supported by Creative Ireland are pleased to announce the expansion of the Sounding The Feminists Scheme to include new Project and Recording Awards in addition to our Commission Awards. 

In view of the global crisis and its impact on creativity, STF and NCH are pleased to announce an expansion of the award scheme to encompass several areas of musical creativity. 

The new Project Award supports women-led artists in devising and presenting imaginative, engaging, and high-quality new music projects. The new Recording Award supports a high-quality professional recording project, which aims to enrich public knowledge and understanding of how women composers and creative artists have contributed to repertoires.

We continue our Commission Awards for new works by established and mid-career/emerging female identifying musicians/composers/creators.
 

The Awards: 

  • Commissions Award - Established Artists €10,000
  • Commissions Award - Mid-Career/Emerging €3,000 
  • Music Recording Award 2020/21: €10,000
  • Music Project Award 2020/2: €15,000
     

Eligibility:

You can only apply for one scheme 

  • Applicant/Lead must have been born in, or be resident in, the Island of Ireland.
  • Commission Awards are open to people who identify as women. Project and Recording Awards must be women-led.
  • Award winners, in relevant categories, must be available to attend the rehearsals and premiere performance in person on dates as agreed with NCH. It is intended that resulting performance-based works will be premiered and produced by NCH in 2021/22
 

Assessment Criteria for all Three Awards:

  • The high artistic quality and vision of the proposal 
  • Track record in accordance with the scheme (evident in supporting work)
  • Feasibility of concept and candidate’s ability to deliver
  • The originality, innovation and scope of the proposal
  • The public value of the proposal
  • Accord with NCH/STF partnership aims with regard diversity and gender balance
  • Assessment Procedure:
  • An independent panel, jointly chosen by NCH + STF will shortlist in each scheme. Shortlisted proposals (with the exception of the Emerging Scheme in Commissions) will be invited to ‘pitch’ their ideas in more detail to a panel.

 

Applying for the Awards

  • Submissions will open on Monday 23rd November 2020
  • Submissions will be made by email which will be available on Monday 23rd November. Any queries before Monday can be sent to stfschemeinfo@nch.ie
  • The closing date for all schemes will be Friday 11th December 2020

 

The STF/NCH Music Commissions Award 2020/21

Commissions Award (2 strands: Established (€10,000) + Mid-Career/Emerging (€3,000)) 
NCH & Sounding The Feminists (STF) Commissioning Scheme offers established and mid-career/emerging female identifying musicians/composers/creators, from all musical idioms, a new platform to create a new and original piece of work.  It is intended that the commissioned pieces will be performed as part of NCH’s programme in 2021/22.

Potential proposals for Commissions: 

  • New or experimental ways of conceiving music
  • Score-based work for a specific ensemble 
  • New work that is disseminated/performed through any means.
  • New work within any musical idiom/genre
  • Collaborative works from more than one musician or composer
  • Non-score-based, improvised, electronic, sound-art or installation-type composition 
 

Established Commission Award

A commission aimed at experienced composers and musicians with a track record, the scheme offers a commission for an ensemble of up to 15 performers for a 10-12 minute piece. The commission fee will be 10,000 Euro. The piece will be for instrumentation of the composer’s choice and is open to any definition of a performer.

As above, proposals will be assessed and shortlisted entrants will be invited to interview present on their proposal to a panel of NCH, STF and an independent expert.

Submissions for this Award should be sent to stfcommission1@nch.ie

Mid-Career/Emerging Commission Award

A commission aimed at mid-career/emerging composers/creatives, the scheme offers a commission for an ensemble of up to 6 musicians for a 5 minute piece.  The commission fee will be 3,000 Euro. The piece will be for instrumentation of the composer’s choice and is open to any definition of a performer.

Submissions for this Award should be sent to stfcommission2@nch.ie

Submission Requirements: 

  • All entrants must submit a 300-word outline proposal of the work. (Include proposed Instrumentation/forces (Instrumentation of the composer’s choice and is open to any definition of a performer)
  • A detailed CV. 
  • Include audio/video examples of your work in support of your submission.
  • Supplementary statement detailing how your proposed new work considers, focuses on redressing the imbalance, or highlights issues of diversity, gender or inequality. (max. 200 words)
  • Proposed Instrumentation (Instrumentation of the composer’s choice and is open to any definition of a performer)


 

The STF/NCH Music Recording Award 2020/21: €10,000

Sounding the Feminists and the National Concert Hall, in association with Creative Ireland, invite applications for the 2020 – 21 Recording Project. 
The purpose of the award is to support a high-quality professional recording project, which aims to enrich public knowledge and understanding of how women composers and creative artists have contributed to repertoires.  

Potential proposals for Recording Projects could: 

  • Focus on historical women composers
  • Focus on contemporary creative women artists
  • Focus on Irish and/or international repertoires
  • Introduce listeners to new repertoires
  • Curate older, neglected repertoires for listeners
  • Contextualise historical and contemporary repertoires for listeners
  • Bring rarely recorded works by women to listeners
  

Submission Requirements

  • All entrants must submit a 500-word outline proposal detailing key elements.
  • Include audio/video examples of your work in support of your submission.
  • Supplementary statement detailing how your proposed new work considers, focuses on redressing the imbalance, or highlights issues of diversity, gender or inequality (max. 200 words)
  • Proposed Budget 
  • Proposed Schedule
  • Biographies and samples of work from the key artistic personnel involved 
Submissions for this Award should be sent to stfrecording@nch.ie

 

 

The STF/NCH Music Project Award 2020/2: €15,000

This award supports women-led artists in devising and presenting imaginative, engaging, and high-quality new music projects
 

Potential proposals might include:

  • Are performance and/or recording oriented, as best suits the project
  • Are women-led and from any music discipline (composer/conductor/curator/director/performer/technologist/ writer etc…) Co or shared-leaderships are also possible.
  • Demonstrate an imaginative and distinct approach to equitable programming and presentation, including a careful consideration of the gender balance and other equitable factors of the artistic team involved.
  • Repertoire and/or material included may involve newly-created work, pre-existing work or any combination of the two
  • Offer significant opportunities to professional practitioners, particularly performers, conductors, curators, and production personnel
  • Include any or all music genres and can involve collaboration with other artistic forms; for example, visual artists, writers, film makers, theatre practitioners etc

 

Submission Materials required

  • Project Outline ( max.. 500 words)
  • Supplementary statement detailing how your proposal considers, focuses on redressing the imbalance, or highlights issues of diversity, gender or inequality. (max. 200 words) 
  • Proposed Budget 
  • Proposed Schedule
  • Biographies and samples of work from the key artistic personnel involved
Submissions for this Award should be sent to stfnewproject@nch.ie