CoMA Open Score 2014 Concerto Artistic Director and

Soloist ROLF HIND

Born in London and now living there after studies at the Royal College of Music and in Los
Angeles, Rolf Hind's career has many facets. He appears regularly at new music festivals
throughout Europe. He is in demand as a soloist with all the major BBC orchestras and
plays regularly with the London Sinfonietta. As a performer he has had a number of
concertos written specially for him.
Rolf's compositions are largely inspired by his repeated trips to India and a subsequent
fascination with the culture and language. Since then, most of his works have sprung
from that source, including The Horse Sacrifice, for six instrumentalists, The City of
Love (a setting of Hindi texts) for voice, cello and piano, Your Black Mouth, for clarinet
and harp, and Sunnata for six keyboards. In 2008 he premiered his piano concerto
"Maya-Sesha" with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Rolf is also inspired by
working with players at the cutting edge of instrumental technique and innovation.

CoMA has secured a fantastic opportunity for composers to write a

work for Solo Piano & Ensemble, and to have their pieces workshopped
and performed by the internationally acclaimed pianist Rolf Hind.
Short-listed works will be workshopped by the Open Score Ensemble at
the CoMA Summer School 2014, and at least one selected work will
receive a further public performance, with Rolf Hind as soloist.
All composers will receive feedback on their pieces from the selection
panel, and all works submitted will be considered for inclusion in the
CoMA Repertoire Library. CoMA intends to promote successful pieces
with a view to further performances by other pianists and other
ensembles.
This is the specification:
Works must be between 5 and 8 minutes in duration.
The SOLO PART must be suitable for a conservatoire standard pianist (a
semi-professional or very good amateur player).
The INSTRUMENT written for must be a grand piano, using only TWO
pedals (sustain and una corda). Contemporary extended piano techniques
may be used, but the instrument must NOT be prepared in any way.
The ENSEMBLE must consist of a four-part instrumental group of flexible
size and instrumentation, following the CoMA guidelines for flexibly scored
pieces. In addition, the ensemble may include one keyboard player (with
access to an electronic keyboard, but NOT a second piano) and/or one
percussion player. The ensemble parts must be within the capabilities of
amateur players. The percussion part must be playable by a nonspecialist percussionist.
To take part:
Submit finished scores by SATURDAY 31st MAY 2014, along with a completed
application form.
There is a fee to to cover administration costs. 15 for CoMA members; 30 for
non-members, but this includes CoMA membership valid to the end of December
2014.

Send scores as a PDF file attachment to openscore@coma.org, or by post to:

CoMA Open Score 2014, Rich Mix, 35 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA.
It is important for composers to understand CoMAs aims of inclusivity through
participation, and to read the guidelines and requirements below.
For further information or any questions, please contact openscore@coma.org

Writing for CoMA ensembles - guidelines and

requirements
What is flexible scoring?
CoMA ensembles vary in size and instrumentation, so we ask composers
to write flexible scores which are designed to be performed by different
numbers and combinations of instruments. You may specify your preferred
instrumentation, but pieces must be playable using many different
combinations of instruments.
Division of parts
Flexible scores usually consist of four parts, and often a number of
different instruments will play from each part. The conductor and
performers will choose which instruments play each part, depending on
what instruments are available, adjusting the instrumentation to achieve
the right balance.
You may also include parts for keyboard and percussion if you wish.
The following is a typical division of parts:

Part 1 upper range:

- e.g., violin, flute, oboe, clarinet

Part 2 upper middle range:

- e.g., violin, oboe, clarinet, viola, alto saxophone, trumpet

Part 3 lower middle range:

- e.g., viola, tenor saxophone, french horn, tenor horn, bassoon,
trombone, guitar

Part 4 lower range:

- e.g., cello, double bass, bassoon, trombone, euphonium, tuba, bass
guitar

keyboard (piano or electronic keyboard) normally one player only

percussion normally one player only

Percussion
The percussion instruments available vary between ensembles, so please
suggest alternatives. For untuned percussion, specifying a generic timbre
rather than a specific instrument is flexible and useful - e.g., drum, wood
or metal.
List the instruments/timbres and the number of percussionists required on
the score and the part.
Tuned percussion instruments (if available) may be assigned to one of the
four basic ensemble parts.
Write the percussion part either in instrumental groupings (tuned and
untuned), or on one continuous line, but do not use multiple separate
parts.
Note that in CoMA ensembles, percussion is usually played by a nonspecialist.
Examples
Scores and recordings of a number of existing CoMA works are available
online at
http://www.coma.org/library . If you would like to view more scores, either
in person at the
CoMA office or by post, contact Liz Herbert on library@coma.org.
Online guidelines
http://coma.org/openscore

Preparing for CoMA ensemble workshops - guidelines for

composers
Score and part preparation
Please ensure that your score and part preparation covers the following
points.

The score should have a title, and if appropriate a short descriptive

programme note.
Please provide a short biographical note about the composer at the
front of the score.
Any special performance instructions that apply to the whole piece
should appear at the front of the score, and may also appear in the
parts if appropriate.
For Open Score pieces (flexible scoring), the score should show all
parts in C, i.e., not transposed.
Where the piece is for specific instrumentation, including transposing
instruments, transposed parts are preferred.
Use only one stave per part unless the part contains complicated divisi
passages.
Try to use clefs for each part which are appropriate to the tessitura of
the music e.g., alto clef may be used for part 3.
Bar numbers must be shown in all pieces. In longer pieces, rehearsal
letters should also be used.
The initial tempo and all tempo changes must be clearly marked.
Metronome marks should be used where possible.
Order of staves:
- If there are any solo instruments, their parts should appear at the top
of the score.
- Then place the ensemble parts in order of tessitura Parts 1,2,3,4,
etc.
- The Keyboard part(s), if any, should be placed below the ensemble
parts.
- The Percussion part(s), if any, should be placed at the bottom of the
score.
The parts should be clearly labelled with the part number,
transposition and clef e.g., Part 1 in C Treble; Part 2 in Bb Treble;
etc.
Some parts may need extra clarification. For example, if you provide
two versions of Part 3, one for clarinet and one for tenor sax, the
transpositions are different by an octave. The clarinet part should be
Part 3 in Bb Treble (Clt); the sax part should be Part 3 in Bb Treble
(Sax).
Please try to avoid difficult page turns in the parts wherever possible.
Ensure score and parts are printed large enough to be easily legible,
bearing in mind the distance between the player and the music stand.
E.g., if using Sibelius, use staff size 7 for the parts and not less than
6.6 in the score.
For percussion, list the instruments/timbres and the number of
percussionists required on the score and at the beginning of the part.
For percussion, lay out the part either in instrumental groupings (tuned
and untuned), or on one continuous line, but do not use multiple

separate parts. Show instrument changes clearly. Be consistent about

the use of specific stave lines/space for specific sounds.
Score and parts should be made available in PDF format.
If you use Sibelius or other music notation software, it would be useful
(but not essential) to have a copy of the source file available, so that
CoMA can more easily generate any additional parts or transpositions
that may be necessary.

Allocation of instruments to parts

The following table gives a rough guide to how the most common instruments
may be assigned to different parts in the ensemble. Parts for those instruments
marked in bold and underlined are essential; other parts may be regarded as
optional.
In most cases, one part can serve for several instruments. E.g., Part 1 in C
Treble Clef could be given to Flute, Oboe and Violin. Part 4 in C Bass Clef
could be given to cello, bassoon, trombone and double bass, but bear in mind
that in this case the double bass will sound an octave lower than written. (In the
range descriptions, C4 is middle C; B3 is the B below middle C; C5 is one octave
above middle C; etc.)
(Typical ranges, as written
for C instrs)
C4G3C3-E5 C2C7
A5
G4
PART PART PART PART
1
2
3
4
in C

Instrument

Transposition

Clef

Flute

None

Treble

Piccolo

8ve higher

Treble

in C

Oboe

None

Treble

in C

(sounding)

th

Cor Anglais

perf 5 lower

Treble

Eb Clarinet

min 3rd higher

Treble

in Eb
in Bb

in C
in F

in F

in Bb

in Bb

Bb Clarinet

maj 2

lower

Treble

Bass Clarinet

maj 9th lower

Treble

in Bb

in Bb

Bassoon

None

in C

in C

Bb Soprano Sax

maj 2nd lower

Bass /
Tenor
Treble

Eb Alto Sax

maj 6th lower

Treble

th

nd

Bb Tenor Sax

maj 9 lower

Treble

Eb Baritone Sax

8ve+maj 6th lower

Treble

in Bb

in Bb
in Eb

in Eb
in Bb
in Eb

French Horn in F

th

perf 5 lower

Treble

in F

Eb Tenor Horn

maj 6th lower

Treble

in Eb

Bb Trumpet

maj 2

nd

lower

Treble

Tenor Trombone

None

Bb
Euphonium/Baritone
Tuba /Bass
Trombone
Eb Bass

maj 9th lower

Bass /
Tenor
Treble

None

Bass

Bb Bass

in Bb

In Bb
in C

in C

in Bb

in Bb
in C

8ve+maj 6th lower

Treble

in Eb

nd

Treble

in Bb

Violin

Two 8ves+ maj 2

lower
None

Viola

None

Alto

Cello

None

in C

Double Bass/Bass

8ve lower

Bass /
Tenor
Bass

Guitar
Guitar

8ve lower

Treble

in C

in C

Others

May vary

May
vary

As
reqd

As
reqd

Treble

in C

in C
in C

in C
in C
in C

As
reqd

As
reqd

ENTRY FORM
CoMA Open Score 2014 Concerto Artistic director ROLF
HIND
Call for Pieces for Solo Piano and Ensemble

Deadline for submissions - 31 May 2014

Title of your composition
..
Name

........
Address

....

.......

.......
Email
.
.......
Telephone
..

Please tell us how you heard about this call for pieces:
..................
..
Please ensure that your piece adheres to the CoMA Guidelines.
Please send completed scores:
By e-mail to: openscore@coma.org attaching your score as a PDF file.
(Please attach only PDF format documents if sending by e-mail.)
Or send hard copy by post to:
CoMA Open Score 2014 Concerto, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road,
London E12 6LA

PLEASE COMPLETE THIS ENTRY FORM AND SEND IT WITH YOUR

SCORE
ENSURE THAT YOUR NAME DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE SCORE
DO NOT SEND PARTS AT THIS STAGE

Only one entry per composer is allowed.

An entry fee (cheques payable to CoMA) must accompany each entry:
CoMA Members: 15

Non-members: 30 (inc. free CoMA membership up to the end of

December 2014)
Electronic banking details are available on request

If you wish, you may also attach a MP3 format sound file, or a link to such
a file on the internet, but this is entirely optional.
If your piece is selected for workshopping and possible performance at the
CoMA Summer School, you will be notified by Monday 16th June 2014,
and a full set of parts will be required by Monday 30th June 2014.
All pieces submitted will also be considered for inclusion in the CoMA
Library and you will be notified of this separately.