2023 Competition Winner

The winner of the 2023 Ithaca College-Heckscher Foundation International Composition Prize is Vertigo, for viola and magnetic tape by Massimo Lauricella.

This winning piece will be performed by Ithaca College viola professor Kyle Armbrust in the Spring of 2024.

2023 Heckscher Foundation - Ithaca College International Composition Prize

The Ithaca College School of Music is pleased to announce the 2023 Heckscher Foundation–Ithaca College International Composition Prize. This year the competition will award the best work for solo viola with or without electronics.

The work’s duration must be maximum 12 minutes. Pieces submitted to the competition may have been previously performed, recorded or awarded other prizes.

The composer of the winning work will receive a cash award of $1,500. The work will be performed by Ithaca College viola faculty member Kyle Armbrust at Ithaca College in the spring of 2024, date TBA.

More about Prof. Armbrust: https://iceorg.org/kyle-armbrust

Please note:

The winning composer is welcome to attend the performance at Ithaca College if so desired. The Heckscher Foundation-Ithaca College Composition Prize will not provide travel/accommodation allowance.

Submission deadline is November 15, 2023.  The winning work will be announced on the Ithaca College Heckscher Competition website by February 1, 2024. The winner will be contacted via e-mail.

https://www.ithaca.edu/academics/school-music/music-theory-history-and-composition/heckscher

Submission Guidelines:

  1. Submissions must be anonymous.
  2. Only ONE submission per composer will be accepted.
  3. Score and recording must show the title of the work only. Should any part of the composer’s name be legible on the score, recording or linked URLs, the entry will be disqualified.
    • For submitting materials electronically, please use the online entry form found on this link.
  4.  To submit your materials, you will need to provide direct URLs to the following
    • Score in PDF format (no other format will be accepted.)
    • Recording, audio or video (if available).
    • Text or PDF document containing your full name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. This document should be labeled with the title of your piece plus the words “contact info”, example: "Mypiece-contactinfo.pdf"

Please Note: PDF, audio, video and text files should be uploaded to platforms such as Dropbox, Megaupload, or any hosting space, making sure that no part of the URL or linked page reveals the identity of the composer. Your materials must be available at the provided URL until at least February 1, 2024. Electronic submissions or links sent via e-mail or any other method aside from the specified above will not be accepted.

Please note that online submission via the electronic form is the only valid form of submission. Do NOT send materials or links via e-mail. Mail-in submissions will not be accepted.

Should you have any questions, please send an e-mail to Jorge Grossmann jvgrossmann@ithaca.edu.