Centennial song contest
To celebrate the CU College of Music’s 100th birthday and welcome an ever-widening circle of music lovers into the college, we invite members of the larger CU Boulder community—students, alumni, staff, and non-music faculty—who wish to submit a song in one of the categories listed below.
A list of semi-finalists—the number still to be determined—will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges. The criteria for song selection will include basic craft, melodic originality, clarity of form and style, and suitability for effective vocal performance. From this group of semi-finalists, a shorter list—probably no more than six writers—will be given the opportunity to have their songs presented in a public program at the college early in 2020. The winning entries, determined partially by audience response at the live performances, will be eligible for special recognition at major centennial programs with prizes yet to be determined.
Theme
The general subject of the song should be to celebrate the history of music locally, the Boulder experience, the College of Music in particular, and/or the spirit and beauty of Colorado in general. All writers are asked to designate a category for their song to aid the judges, although songs may of course fit into several categories at once. The named categories, which are intended merely to suggest the range of style possibilities rather than to limit writers to a single type, are:
- Classical/concert style
- Jazz
- Country/bluegrass
- Folk/children’s
- Gospel/inspirational
- R&B/hip hop
- International/world music
- Pop/rock
Rules and guidelines
- The lyrics for each entry must be original, or taken from an open source in the public domain, or be accompanied by written permission from the copyright holder. No songs will be accepted which are not so permitted; the contest shall not be held liable for any copyright infringement.
- Songs can be written for solo voice with up to five players total (including voice). The songwriter is responsible for all costs incurred in the production and performance of their work.
- Each song should be no more than five minutes in length.
- The deadline for submission of all songs is Oct. 15, 2019.
- Each song should be submitted in a standard audio or audio/visual format, such as YouTube or a similar application, and such that a link to it can be placed in an e-document accessible to all of the judges.