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2021 Gilgamesh International Composition Competition

The Gilgamesh International Composition Competition 2021 is now closed. We want to thank the many entries received from around the world including Canada,  China, Cyprus, England, Estonia, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States of America, among others.

For any additional inquiries, please contact us at competition@gilgamesh.co.com

Winners

Tomasz Skweres - Regensburg, Germany.jpg

Tomasz Skweres

1st place

From Regensburg, Germany

$1500

Mohammad H. Javaheri - Tehran, Iran.jpg

Mohammad Javaheri

3rd place

From Tehran, Iran

$350

Mate Balogh - Budapest, Hungary.jpg

Mate Balogh

5th place

From Budapest, Hungary

Performance of the piece

David Roche - Cambridge, UK.jpg

David Roche

7th place

From Cambridge, UK

Performance of the piece

Mischa Tangian -  Berlin, Germany.jpeg

Mischa Tangian

9th place

From Berlin, Germany

Performance of the piece

Hendrik Hofmeyr - Cape Town, South Afric

Hendrik Hofmeyr

The best piece composed for Duduk

Cape Town, South Africa

A Duduk from Armenia

Rojin Monibi - Tehran, Iran.jpg

Rojin Monibi

2nd place

From Tehran, Iran

$750

Myrto Nizami - Den Haag, Netherlands.jpg

Myrto Nizami

4th place

From Den Haag, Netherlands

Performance of the piece

Emir Can Pehlivan - Istanbul, Turkey.jpe

Emir Can Pehlivan

6th place

From Istanbul, Turkey

Performance of the piece

Andrew Lovett - Princeton NJ, USA.jpg

Andrew Lovett

8th place

From Princeton, NJ, USA

Performance of the piece

Payman Mansouri - Tehran, Iran.jpg

Payman Mansouri

10th place

From Tehran, Iran

Performance of the piece

* ​Entries must be submitted and paid for online by Wednesday, December 31, 2021, 11:59 PM PST.

* If the entry fee is a barrier for submission, please contact us. we will work with your personal situation to ensure admission to the competition.

Composers

Our Team

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Du Yun

Jury

Du Yun is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, performance artist, activist, and curator for new music, who works at the intersection of orchestral, opera, chamber music, theatre, cabaret, musical theater, oral tradition, public performances, sound installation, electronics, visual arts, and noise. She won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her opera Angel's Bone, and was a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow.

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Thomas Kotcheff

Jury

Thomas Kotcheff is a Los Angeles based composer and pianist. His music has been described as “truly beautiful and inspired” and “explosive." His compositions have been performed internationally by The Riot Ensemble, New York Youth Symphony, wild Up, Sandbox Percussion, Trio Appassionata, Argus Quartet, Lyris Quartet, HOCKET, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble amongst others.

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Arshia Samsaminia

Jury

Arshia is an Iranian contemporary classical composer and current PhD candidate at Aristotle University. He has studied at the Sibelius Academy, UDK Berlin, Gothenburg Academy, TSC Georgia and Estonian Academy of Music. His compositions have been performed by Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Garage, Ensemble Klart, among others, and has been featured in festivals internationally. 

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Honiball Joseph

CEO at Gilgamesh Foundation

Honiball Joseph is a composer, conductor, and pianist, with more than thirty years of extensive international experience in music and art. He graduated from Tehran Music Conservatory and Tehran Azad Art University. He is the founder and current CEO of Gilgamesh Art & Culture Foundation and the visionary behind the Gilgamesh Composition Competition. Honiball is passionate about helping high quality art become more accessible to the community.

George N. Gianopoulos

George N. Gianopoulos

Competition Artistic Director

George N. Gianopoulos is a Los Angeles based composer. His music has been performed throughout the world and has been commissioned by The Glendale Philharmonic, The Chamber Opera Players of Los Angeles, The Symbiosis Ensemble, and The Helix Collective, among others. He has been awarded by the American Viola Society, Boston Metro Opera, Aurora Borealis Duo and his music has been performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Pacific Symphony.

Guidelines

Theme

The Epic of Gilgamesh, from ancient Mesopotamia, begins with five Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 BC). The Epic is recorded on a set of twelve clay tablets dating to the seventh century BC, found in the Library of Ashurbanipal in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. Gilgamesh became the hero par excellence of the ancient world—an adventurous, brave, but tragic figure symbolizing man's vain but endless drive for fame, glory, and immortality. We are looking for chamber music that is inspired by the story of Gilgamesh and Assyrian culture.

Guidelines

  • Eligibility Any composer regardless of age, nationality or professional level is eligible.

  • Instrumentation  Full scores of any style or aesthetic direction for 1-8 performers may be submitted. One Instrument per player: Flute (Piccolo), B-flat Clarinet (Bass Clarinet), French Horn, Violin, Cello, Harp, Percussion (List of available percussion instruments) & Duduk. 

  • Duration 5-8 minutes maximum; multi-movement works accepted.

  • Entry fee A non-refundable entry fee of fifteen US dollars (15.00 USD) is paid online at the time of submission via PayPal. Please contact us if you don't have access to PayPal.*

  • Limit Unlimited entries allowed; Submission Fee for each additional

  • Anonymous Submission The composer's name must not appear on the score or in any accompanying materials submitted online.

  • Judges A panel of judges consisting of international composers.

Submission

  • Format Anonymous PDF; Works do not need to be premieres

  • Audio Recording Live Performance, Studio Recording or MIDI, preferred, but not mandatory

  • Biography PDF of a bio and/or resume (two pages maximum)

Awards

  • 1st Place$1500

  • 2nd Place$750

  • 3rd Place$350

  • Additional awards 8 pieces will be performed and recorded (audio and video) at the event in Los Angeles, California. Additional awards and performances may be given at the discretion of the judges.

Deadline

  • Competition Opens: Monday, April 13, 2020

  • Scores Due: Friday, January 1, 2021

  • Announcement of Performance Winners: Spring 2021

  • Performance & Final Prize Announcement: Spring, 2021

Additional Documents

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