• FANFARE COMPETITION

    Fanfare develops the creative potential of young people through experiential learning in the performing arts.

ENTER THE FANFARE COMPETITION!

Imagine hearing your music played by the Australian Youth Orchestra, Queensland Youth Chamber Orchestra or the Sydney Youth Orchestra and broadcast at professional venues around Australia! If you are a budding composer or musician then the Fanfare Competition is an exciting opportunity for you.

The Fanfare Competition is open to young people aged 12-21 years, to compose a 30 second composition and submit a score and recording online. Selected participants will work with mentor composers Nicholas Vines, Lyle Chan, Jessica Wells and Chrysoulla Markoulli to develop ideas and will either be selected for:

  1. Australian Youth Orchestra live recording session at Trackdown Studios and your piece will be broadcast at professional venues across Australia
  2. Queensland Youth Chamber Orchestra concert event at Queensland Performing Arts Centre
  3. Sydney Youth Orchestras concert event at the Vebrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
  4. Additional opportunities of two people selected to either create the sound design for an Australian Theatre for Young People or create a soundscape for tabletop gaming app Syrinscape.

The competition is looking for compositions that have ‘something to say’ and draw attention. You don’t need to have a strong musical background – your work just needs to draw attention for the intended use of cueing audiences to take their seats at performance venues. Entries for the 2021 Fanfare Competition are now closed. Join the mailing list to stay up-to-date. The Competition will reopen in February 2022.

Artology’s Fanfare Competition is the winner of the 2016 Art Music Award for Excellence in Music Education. 

Thank you for allowing us to be involved in the launch yesterday. It was a great day for Hannah and her family and certainly we were proud of Hannah and her achievements. Belmont High School will be promoting your program and encouraging other students to get involved. This program is amazing and you should be rightly proud of the achievements gained by all participants. The students have had an opportunity that others would only dream of. The rewards for the students are obvious but I think that the program will benefit as these young people might become mentors to others in the program as the years go by.

Thanks for inviting us to the Fanfare event today. It’s the type of initiative that I love. Knowing nothing about music I find it astonishing that those pieces were created by such young composers. It’s a really clever way of showcasing the extraordinary talent of young people in an environment we associate with artistic excellence. Just brilliant.

What an opportunity to develop the art and love of music!

Definitely a great initiative and opportunity – demonstrates support from a major Arts Institution.

Amazed by the quality and style for the age. It’s an incredible opportunity and opening for the youths.

Any opportunity for using creativity to support learning is to be valued.

The competition I believe will inspire many music teachers to encourage the development of music in Australia.

The works are of very high standard and will be a refreshing change from the usual beeping.

Congratulations on this innovative initiative! With your superb publicity, news of this should spreads far and wide, and that perhaps all cue bells throughout the land, will soon be replaced with similarly inspirational sounds!

SUBMISSION DETAILS

  • Age Limit: 12-21 Years

  • STEP 1

    Select instruments from the Instrumentation List (below) and write your 30 second Fanfare. Create a Short Score (using a few instruments that best suit your composition); a Full Orchestral Score of your favourite four (4) bars plus a Recording. (If you are having difficulty converting your score to Short Score form simply submit a PDF of your full score).

  • Step 3

    2021 Fanfare Competition is now closed. Entries will reopen in February 2022.

  • Step 4

    Winning participants for the 2021 Fanfare Competition will be announced 22 June 2021.

  • Step 5

    Selected composers participate in workshop days to refine their compositions with mentor composers Nicholas Vines and Lyle Chan.  Workshops dates 24 July, 21 August and the recording session and the concerts will be announced in 2021.

WHAT DO I GET IF I AM SELECTED?

  • Free travel to attend workshops

  • Work with industry professionals

  • Attend a studio recording with the AYO

  • Attend workshops and concert event with QYOs and SYOs.

  • Receive a copy of the studio recording

  • Hear your music broadcast at venues around Australia

  • Invitations to launch events

  • ATYP Sound Design Scholarship and Syrinscape App Soundscape Mentorship offered to 2 entrants

INSTRUMENTATION LIST

Before you start composing your fanfare make sure you have selected your instrumentation from the following list:

1 flute, 1 oboe, 1 clarinet or saxophone, 1 bassoon, 2 trumpets (Bb or C), 2 french horns, 1 trombone, strings (8 violin 1, 6 violin 2, 4 viola, 3 cello, 2 bass), timpani (sizes 32, 29, 26 & 23), percussion (no more than 2 players), electronics or recorded sound. We encourage you to call us if you have any queries regarding instrumentation in particular percussion and electronics (electronics would be accommodated in the final recording process).

Percussion List: 2 bongos, bell tree, bass drum, castanets, snare drum, suspended cymbals (China, standard), glockenspiel, marimba, tambourine, tenor drum, triangle, tom-toms (Please note: 2 players only)

LISTEN TO PAST FANFARE ENTRIES

What is a fanfare? 

A fanfare is a short piece of music typically played by brass instruments and  percussion with the purpose of gaining the attention of the audience. Artology in partnership with Cool Australia have developed a series of free student and teacher resources to assist with your composition.

What is a short score?

A short score is a reduction of a work. Rather than composing directly in full score, many composers work out some type of short score while they are composing and later expand the complete orchestration. To create your short score we suggest using 3 or 4 instruments that best suit your composition.

Listen to part Fanfare entries.

SOUND DESIGN MENTORSHIP

Each year one Fanfare participant is selected to work with the Australian Theatre for Youth People and Steve Francis to create the sound design for an upcoming production. The winner is selected by the judging committee and receives a cash prize!  The 2020 recipient Oliver Dostal will create the music for a new show in 2021.

“I have found this to be incredibly enjoyable and beneficial as I rely on translating verbal description into a musical context and end product. Steve Francis has been an excellent guide and mentor in this process, lending his experience and expertise to help shape and often clarify the logistical or practical way to create the appropriate sound for a scene. This experience with ATYP is certainly one that will remain with me.” Kailesh Reitsman

2020: Oliver Dostal (Show in 2021 to be announced)
2019: Daniel Duque – April Aardvark
2018: Maddie Hughes – Charlie Pilgrim 
2017: Kailesh Reitsman – Wonder Fly
2016: Chrysoulla Markoulli – Fight with all your might
2015: Sam Weller – The Trolleys

SOUNDSCAPE MENTORSHIP

Music and Gaming Mentorship
Create a soundscape for the tabletop gaming app Syrinscape. You will work with program creator Benjamin Loomes to develop a soundscape (both music & sound effects) which will be available as official content for gamers all around the world within the Syrinscape app! Check out the Syrinscape website.