‘Black Pencil in Schokland’ Prize 2022

Museum Schokland (the central point of the UNESCO world heritage site of Schokland and surroundings) and Ensemble Black Pencil are announcing an international call for short compositions of ca. 60 seconds for a solo instrument, which invites composers to be inspired by the former island of Schokland.

Many poems have been written about Schokland, and Schokland and surroundings, along with its peculiar history, the visible and invisible monuments and the landscape can be a rich source of inspiration for composers. The aim of the initiative is to strengthen the connection between cultural heritage and new music.

Composers from all over the world are invited to submit a composition of approximately 60 seconds in length, inspired by Schokland, for a solo instrument from the instrumentation of the ensemble Black Pencil (recorder, panflute, viola, accordion, percussion). The winning composition will receive a monetary prize of €1.500, and, in addition, four honorary mentions will be awarded. The submissions are evaluated by the jury, consisting of the Black Pencil members and composer Roderik de Man, on the basis of creativity, innovation, sound color and compositional quality.

The selected short compositions will be performed live during Sound Walk Schokland on 10th July and 28th August 2022, along a walking route across the former island of Schokland. Live performances of the works will follow again in Schokland in the summer of 2023. In addition the works will be professionally recorded, and used to create soundscapes that the visitors can access through QR codes, allowing the public to listen to the music when walking in the location throughout the year.

Deadline for submissions

01 June 2022.

There is no age limit and no application fee. The competition is open to composers of all nationalities. Please understand that given the purpose of the short compositions as part of the walking route, the duration of your solo work should not exceed 60 seconds.

Prizes

● 1st prize: € 1.500
● 4 honorary mentions
● Selected compositions will be recorded and performed live in the summer 2022 and 2023
● Participation in Podcast about the project

For detailed information about and how to write for each one of the instruments of Black Pencil, please visit
blackpencil.org/forcomposers.

Website of the world heritage Schokland: schokland.nl/en/
Schokland and surroundings on the website of UNESCO World Heritage Centre: whc.unesco.org/en/list/739/

Videos of Schokland on YouTube for inspiration

● Rondleiding 2020: youtube.com/watch?v=GPatOKKcuA4&t=433s
(In Dutch – for English subtitles switch on subtitles/closed captions (CC) and select Auto-translate (English) in the settings)
● Toerist in eigen land: Nu.nl: (2020): youtube.com/watch?v=FWsh-fQix_8
(In Dutch – for English subtitles switch on subtitles/closed captions (CC) and select Auto-translate (English) in the settings)
● Unesco Werelderfgoed Schokland (2014): youtube.com/watch?v=emrKXA0qz0w&t=70s
(In Dutch – for English subtitles switch on subtitles/closed captions (CC) and select Auto-translate (English) in the settings)
● Schokland 1859 – Ontruiming (2020) – 3D Animation: youtube.com/watch?v=EyOYNQWJkjc
● What happened to Schokland? (2019): youtube.com/watch?v=6J7PIPuy20A
(In English)

Application

Candidates should supply:
– Most recent biography of max. 200 words (in English)
– A recent photo of the composer in high resolution
– A program note: a description of the composition.
– If applicable: a brief description of any special features, such as preparation of instruments, electronics, etc.
– The score of the piece, together with the necessary performance instructions in PDF. Please use your real name: a pseudonym is not needed.
– A MIDI file (in mp3 format). We know that the sound is not representative at all, but it helps the players to speed up the learning process of the piece.

Note: Any composer is welcome to submit more than one composition.