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We are excited to announce PTF’s third annual Composer Showcase, taking place this Spring 2023.

RULES AND INFORMATION

Students will submit videos in which they perform their original piano compositions on the theme Together We Dance. The polished performance may be memorized or performed with the score. The piano compositions may be a piano solo, duet, duo, a song with sung lyrics, or, compositions that include another instrument(s). Students who can read will notate their music and submit their score by either handwriting their score or using a notation software (Noteflight and Finale Notepad have free versions); students who are non-readers (or beginners) will express their composition in their own way, even if it is not in standard notation such as a graph/chart, or a drawing of the sections of their piece.  

 

DRESS CODE AND BOWS

Videos submitted for the audition must meet the following criteria:

  • Students bow before and after the performance of their original composition.

  • Students wear recital-appropriate dress clothes (no jeans, sneakers, hoodies, or hats).

  • Videos must be recorded in horizontal format and using a tripod or other steady surface for the recording device.

 

AWARDS

  • All entrants will receive written comments on their original composition to use with their teacher for further study. 

  • All participants will also receive a Certificate of Participation and attached ribbons.

  • Students will be invited to participate in the in-person Composer Showcase recital.  

 

REGISTRATION

 

 

IMPORTANT DATES

 

  • Online registration deadline: Sunday., Feb. 26, 2023

  • Video submission deadline: Sunday, Mar. 5, 2023

  • Recital, in-person at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton: Sun., March 19, 2023, late afternoon, exact time tbd

 

We hope you will consider submitting student compositions for this PTF event!

 

GUIDELINES

​Video submissions for the audition are required for Composer Showcase and must meet the following criteria:

  • Students bow before and after the performance of their original composition. 

  • The polished performance may be memorized or performed with the score.  

  • Teachers or parents may upload videos to an unlisted YouTube, along with scans of the notated score, graph, or chart.

  • Teachers or parents may complete the online registration.

  • Students should wear recital-appropriate dress clothes (no jeans, sneakers, hoodies, or hats).

  • Videos should be recorded in horizontal format and using a tripod or other steady surface for the camera.

  • Videos must include audio, and the performer and his or her hands on the keys should be visible in the frame.

  • Recording on acoustic instruments is preferred, but digital pianos are acceptable.


INSTRUCTIONS FOR UPLOADING VIDEOS TO YOUTUBE


After your performance has been filmed, upload it as an “unlisted” YouTube video (see below). YouTube accepts any of the following video formats: .MO, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.

Follow these directions to upload your completed video to an unlisted YouTube file. You can do this through the YouTube App or on a computer.

  • Go to www.youtube.com and sign in. If you don’t already have an account, create one. It can be easily linked to a Gmail account.

  • Click the “upload” button at the top.

  • Either click on the “Select files to upload” box and select your video file from your device or drag/drop your video file into the box.

  • In the “Basic Info” screen, enter the appropriate title with the Student’s Name in the box where the filename appears.

  • In the box below the title, enter the name of the piece being recorded.

  • Click the box that indicates the video is appropriate for children under 18.

  • Change the privacy setting from “Public” to “Unlisted.”

  • Click “Done.”

  • When the video is finished, copy the URL and paste it into your registration. 



Checklist for Video:

  • Did my students bow before and after the performance of their original composition?

  • Is the entire body of the student visible?

  • Is the student dressed appropriately?

  • Does the YouTube link have my student’s name as the Title?

 

Participating in this event grants permission for audition videos to be viewed by an adjudicator for evaluation purposes, as well as for inclusion in an online Composer Showcase recital, should that become necessary.

 

The Composer Showcase will be its own event featuring the blue-ribbon original compositions.

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