Neo Voyager – development of cultural cooperation by organization of Norwegian and Icelandic editions of contemporary music festival called NeoArte – Synthesizer of Arts Festival along with educational project called Neo Edu Arte presented in Norway, Iceland, and Poland.

RESULTS!!!!

As a result of a two-stage competition, the following composers were selected to participate in the project:

Iceland
Ása ÖnnuÓlafsdóttir
Kristján Steinn Kristjánsson
Norway
Anders Hannevold
Vanessa Isobel Black
Poland
Hubert Gabriel Żmudzki
Przemysław Pacek

Congratulations to the winners and thank you for all your submissions.

COMPOSERS COMPETITION + MENTORING PROGRAM
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
FOR THE COMPOSERS IN THE ESTABLISHING PHASE OF THEIR CAREER

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The NeoArte Association and NeoQuartet are announcing a composing competition for the composers in the establishing phase of their career as part of the educational program NeoEduArte, accompanying the international project under the name “Neo Voyager – development of cultural cooperation by organizing the Norwegian and Icelandic editions of the NeoArte – Synthesizer of Arts contemporary music festival and the Neo Edu Arte educational project in Poland, Norway and Iceland”

The NeoArte Association organises the Norwegian and Icelandic editions of the NeoArte – Synthesizer of Arts Festival and the Neo Edu Arte project between 2023-2024 in a frame of Outcome 2 “Access to art and culture improved” of the Programme Culture financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Polish state budget.

The starting point for the realisation is taken from the NeoArte Synthesizer of Arts Festival – an international event held in Gdańsk, Poland, since 2012. The Festival’s success and the long-term international development strategy for NeoArte Association are the crucial organisational components for artistic and educational events in Norway, Iceland, and Poland. Both foreign editions of the festival and international educational projects are new concepts implemented by NeoArte Association, the ideas that go beyond so-far endeavours.
NeoEduArte’s goal is the education of contemporary music composers in the establishing phase of their career toward developing artistic competencies, career, and entrepreneurship in culture on an international level.
This call is addressed to the composer members of these partner organisations of the project:

nyMusikk’s Composer Group (Norway)
The Society of Icelandic Composers (Iceland) *
Young Division of Polish Composers’ Society (Poland) *

*the participation of composers from outside the organization is also allowed

GENERAL RULES, CONDITIONS, AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
1. The composers, who consider themselves in the establishing phase of their career, are especially encouraged to apply.
2. The competition’s subject is a proposal for a composition for an acoustic or electric string quartet (or both) with an electronic layer and with a video layer (optionally), with a duration of up to 15 minutes.
3. Six composers (two from each organisation) will be chosen to participate in the project by composing new works for acoustic or electric string quartet and take part in educational workshops and coaching sessions in Oslo, Gdańsk, and Reykjavik through the duration of the project.
4. Each NeoEduArte program will contain the following:
– sessions with mentor composers’ team – Trond Reinholdtsen (NO), Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir (IS), Martyna Kosecka (PL), Idin Samimi Mofakham (IR), and Paweł Hendrich (PL);
– presentations by the composer participants, followed by the development of their string quartet proposal into the composition;
– career coaching sessions with Anna Proszowska-Sala (PL);
– workshops with NeoQuartet on writing for acoustic/electric string quartet.
5. The organiser provides accommodation for each project phase. Moreover, each composer participant receives a composition fee of 800 Euros. Travel costs are covered by the participants.
6. As a final result of the NeoEduArte program, six new compositions by the participant composers, written especially for acoustic or electric string quartet settings, will be created. NeoQuartet will perform the premieres of the participants’ works during one of the concerts of the NeoVoyager project in Reykjavik in March 2024. The compositions will also be recorded and published on a CD by Polish label Requiem Records.
7. Preliminary program of NeoEduArte meetings:

Phase No. 1:
21.03.2023-26.03.2023 / NeoEduArte Program (21-24.03.2023) + NeoArte Festival (24-26.03.2023)
Oslo (Norway)
Plans: presentations, meetings with mentor composers, workshops with NeoQuartet, coaching session

Phase No. 2:
22.10.2023-29.10.2023 / NeoEduArte Program (22-25.10.2023) + NeoArte Festival (24-29.10.2023)
Gdańsk (Poland)
Plans: meetings with mentor composers, workshops with NeoQuartet, coaching session

Phase No.3:
19.03.2024-24.04.2024/ NeoEduArte Program (19-21.03.2024) + NeoArte Festival (22-24.03.2024)
Reykjavik (Iceland)
Plans: workshops with NeoQuartet – rehearsals before the premiere, coaching session

8. The NeoArte Association asks the applicants to consider that in-person attendance at each phase of the project development is mandatory. Apply only if you can engage with the program’s whole schedule.

APPLICATIONS AND JURY PROCESS
1. Each composer must deliver the following:

– a brief description of a concept for a new piece for an electric or acoustic string quartet (maximum one page)

– a personal composer statement of why they consider themselves in the establishment phase of their career (maximum one page)

– CV (maximum two pages)

– examples of two scores in PDF format with accompanying audio/video recording (accepted non-downloadable active links to various internet platforms)

2. The deadline for submitting applications is December 31, 2022, at 23:59 (CET).
Extension of the deadline for participants from Iceland until January 31, 2023, at 23:59 (CET).

3. The members of their dedicated organisations (in the case of Poland and Iceland, also from outside the organisation) should send competition entries to:

Poland: kolomlodychzkp@gmail.com
Norway: neoeduarte.nmk@gmail.com
Iceland: tonskaldafelag@tonskaldafelag.is

4. The jury process has two rounds.
Internal selection of the jury from the members of the Young Division of Polish Composers’ Society (Poland), nyMusikk’s Composer Group (Norway), and the Society of Icelandic Composers (Iceland) selects each four candidates for the recommendation to the NeoEduArte project. Recommendations are being sent to the main organiser of the project.
The final jury, consisting of the members of NeoQuartet (Karolina Piątkowska – Nowicka, Paweł Kapica, Michał Markiewicz, Krzysztof Pawłowski), will choose two entries from each project partner’s recommendation selection to take part in the program.
The jury’s decisions are final. The chosen composers will be contacted in the second half of January 2023 to confirm their participation in the project following the official announcements of the participants on February 1, 2023.

Neo Edu Arte program partners:
nyMusikk’s Composer Group (Norway)
The Society of Icelandic Composers (Iceland)
Young Division of Polish Composers’ Society (Poland)