Competition Time

Last year, we ran a competition for composers of organ music to enter their pieces for 'Organ Music for the Christmas Season' which proved to be very popular and a great success. Although one manuals only piece made it into the winners' anthology, there still seems to be a shortage of manuals only music for Christmas (and perhaps generally).

After all, the 18th Century English Organ School provided us with many fine manuals only pieces by composers such as Stanley, Boyce, Greene and Walond, recognising the need for manuals only music for 'pianist-turned-organist' and for those playing organs without pedals.

Hence, this year's competition is dedicated to 'Manuals Only Music for Christmas', ie, any compositions entered must be playable on manuals only with any use of the pedals to be left to the organist themselves (where they even have the choice!).

You may think it's easier to write music just for manuals but it is a skill in itself and requires considerable thought and ingenuity to produce worthwhile and interesting music ... however, we are excited to see what innovative and useful new music this competition will bring forth (as it has with our other anthologies which are still among our best sellers)! See below for all the rules and conditions of entry:

Competition rules and how to enter - we will be accepting entries now until the closing date of midnight (UK time) on 31st August 2023:

The piece should follow the set theme of 'Manuals Only Music for Christmas' and it must not exceed 3 minutes in length (with a little bit of leeway at our discretion). Any repeats that take it over this length need to be optional (please note... the piece should be for organ solo only).
The piece must be suitable for an Organist of moderate standard and must be playable on manuals only with no optional pedal part or instructions.
The piece must be new music and not have previously been published or available elsewhere. However, it is acceptable to submit a piece based on an existing Christmas Carol, providing that it is a public domain tune.
Entries should be anonymous... ie, with the scores not mentioning the Composer's name to preserve impartiality. Any scores marked with the Composer's name will not be considered. Obviously, the winning scores will be reformatted with the addition of the Composer's name for publication.
Entries should be sent in a PDF format (and MP3 recording if available) together with a completed application form to anne@timknightmusic.com by the closing date. Entries are limited to one piece per person.
Please email anne@timknightmusic.com for an application form.
The winning entries will be independently judged and subsequently published (in printed and PDF formats) by Tim Knight Music under a standard publishing contract with royalties on sales payable on a pro rata basis per number of winning composers. The copyright is retained by the Composer.
In addition, one First Prize place will be awarded, with the winner receiving £150.00 cash prize. A recording will be made of the outright winning piece for the release announcement.
The winning entries will be announced on our website and the anthology will be published during September 2023.
This competition is open to all composers worldwide. We encourage entries from composers of all ages ... however, if you are under the age of 18 and your piece is chosen as one of the winning entries, you will need a parent or guardian to sign the contract on your behalf.

If you have any questions or queries, please just get in touch.... otherwise we look forward to receiving your entry! Please feel free to pass this information on....