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Varese Award

Please note..  The announcement of the winner of 2008 Varèse Award has been delayed until early January 2009. Please check back then. We’ll be announcing the winner via our mailing list ASAP. 

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The Deadline for submissions for The Varèse award for ambient music has been extended to Friday 26th September. This year the award is being judged by David Toop with prize of €2000 for the winning entry.

All details for submissions are HERE

DEAF and The South Tipperary Arts Centre announce a new international award for contemporary music composition in the field of ambient music.

Named after the ‘Father of Electronic Music’ Edgard Varèse (1883-1965), the award is intended to encourage exploration of Varèse’s innovations in combining timbre and rhythm in what he termed “organised sound”.

The winner will be announced during DEAF 2008 and will receive a prize of €2000.

Entries must be received before 5pm on Monday 1st September 2008, and must fulfill the following criteria:

  1. The piece of music should be between 5 and 20 minutes in length.
  2. The composition should have a title.
  3. Composers should identify a location for which the music is composed e.g. shopping centre, factory floor etc.
  4. Entries on CD only. One submission only per CD will be permitted. CDs will not be returned and the composer(s) should retain an original copy.
  5. The award is open to entries from anywhere in the world. Entries can be from an individual or group. Copyright or copyright related issues with regard to work(s) submitted will be the sole responsibility of the individual(s) submitting the work(s) to compete for the award. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

All entries should be posted to:

Varèse Award Entries - c/o Frank Taylor
South Tipperary Arts Centre
Nelson St.
Clonmel
Co. Tipperary
Ireland

Elaine Heaney won the inaugural Varèse Award last year. Chosen by renowned ambient composer David Toop, Elaine’s winning piece was entitled ‘The Elephant Whistlings’ and was constructed from samples of the countryside near Kilfeacle and Dundrum, employing added samples of processed cello and piano. Elaine described the piece as exploring “the importance of rural local communities combined with the beauty of the landscape in which we live.”