FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (8/06)
Media Contact: Dr. Todd Gabriel, Hurley School of Music, 318-869-5403. or Lynn Stewart or Kelsey Johnson, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120 or 318-841-7265

Hurley Orchestra Contest at Centenary College Invites High School Students Nationwide to Submit Original Compositions for Orchestra

SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College of Louisiana is inviting high school juniors and seniors, or students of equivalent ages, in the United States to submit original orchestral compositions in the third annual Hurley Orchestra Composition Contest.

The winner of the contest has the opportunity to earn a tuition scholarship as a theory/composition major at Centenary and the winning composition will be performed in concert by the Hurley Orchestra on April 23, 2007. The winning student composer will also receive a recorded copy of the live performance—engineered, edited and preserved on CD—by the Hurley School of Music Recording Studio.

Submitted compositions may be one or more movements, but the total performance time should not exceed 10 minutes. The instrumentation should be selected from the following:
· 3 Flutes (1 piccolo)
· 1 Oboe
· 2 Bb Clarinets
· 1 Bassoon
· 2 Horns in F
· 2 Trumpets in Bb
· Timpani
· Piano
· Percussion
· Strings

The submitted work can be for strings alone, strings with solo instruments listed above or a chamber orchestra piece using strings and any combination of other instruments listed above.

Students currently in grades 11 or 12 are invited to submit a composition for orchestra constructed from all original material. Any style, form and musical language is acceptable within the parameters of "Western Art" music (no quarter-tone or Electro-acoustic music).

The Hurley Orchestra is comprised of approximately 40 musicians. It performs four concerts annually under the direction of Dr. Todd Gabriel. The orchestra has a long history of world premieres, including the chamber orchestra version of “World War II Pizza Man” by Mike Titlebaum, “Temporal Canvas” by Eric McIntyre in 2001, and McIntyre’s “Variations on a Variation” in 2003. The orchestra presented the world premiere of Dr. Gabriel’s “Southern Lullaby” in 2004, “Ladies and Gents: Overture to a College” in 2005 and his “Three Renaissance Christmas Carols” in 2006.

Previous winners of the contest are Michael Alfera from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Costas Dafnis from Coldwater Creek, Mich.

Applications are due by Dec. 1, with the student composers having until Feb. 1 to submit their orchestral scores. The downloadable application form and further details about the contest will soon be available on the Centenary College web site at http://www.centenary.edu/music/contest.

For further information, contact Dr. Todd Gabriel, Hurley School of Music, at 318-869-5403.

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