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Peter Tranchell Centenary Composition Competition for Organ

In 2022, the Centenary year, The Peter Tranchell Foundation held the Peter Tranchell Centenary Composition Competition for Organ. Composers of any nationality and without age restriction were invited to submit a composition (duration: max. 6 minutes) for organ, inspired by some aspect of Peter Tranchell's life and works. See below for the detailed brief.


NEWS @ 14 September 2022: the competition results have now been decided.

The panel this evening awarded the following prizes:
1st: 'Five Portraits of Peter', by Sarah Cattley - awarded £500 and a world première performance by Kevin Bowyer in the PAT100 soirée at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, on 26 November 2022.
2nd: 'Partita Petrus', by Robert Fielding - awarded £250 and a world première performance by Kevin Bowyer in the PAT100 soirée at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, on 26 November 2022.
3rd: 'Petrus Fantasy', by Adrian Lucas - awarded £100.
And awarded a special commendation to 'Petrus Petras', by Samuel Kemp - awarded £50.

The remaining short-listed entries were also highly commended, felt to be worthy of consideration for publication and/or recording – in alphabetical order:

'Diptych', by Rupert Jeffcoat
'Fantasia' on the name of Tranchell, by Liam Condon
'Introduction and Variations on Tu es Petrus', by Stephen Barber
'Move On', by Mark Gotham

The winning and second-placed works were performed on 26 November 2022 by Kevin Bowyer in the PAT100 soirée at St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge

The short-listed works are now published here with the permission of the composers.

The original competition details and brief are retained below for reference.


Introduction

The Peter Tranchell Foundation is pleased to announce the Peter Tranchell Centenary ("PAT100") Composition Competition for Organ. Composers of any nationality and without age restriction are invited to submit a composition (duration: max. 6 minutes) for organ, inspired by some aspect of Peter Tranchell's life and works. See below for the detailed brief.

Eligibility

Any composer is eligible, regardless of age, gender, nationality, religion, sexuality, politics or any other criteria.

Judging Panel

The judging panel will comprise a group of acclaimed organists and composers: David Hill (Chair), Matthew Martin, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Jonathan Wikeley, Martin Neary and Kevin Bowyer.

The panel's decision will be made in early September 2022 and cannot be contested. The Peter Tranchell Foundation reserves the right not to award the prize if insufficient quality/quantity of entries is received.

Prize

£500 and a world première performance by Kevin Bowyer in the PAT100 soirée at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, on 26 November 2022.

+ complimentary tickets for the the concert and reception, plus expenses for travel (2nd class rail) within the UK.

Conditions

Entrants can submit only one work.

The work should not have been previously performed in public, or any recording released, prior to its première at the PAT100 concert.

Duration: maximum 6 minutes.

The winning composer is expected to attend the award concert and reception. Composers do not have to attend the award concert to be eligible for the award, but we do encourage their participation in the event. 

The Brief

The work should be suitable for performance on the organ at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, and no longer than 6 minutes in duration.

Peter Tranchell's 1958 Organ Sonata was commissioned by and written for Peter Le Huray, and incorporated his name in musical and rhythmic forms, also making use of the "Tu Es Petrus" melody.

We would like composers to be inspired by one or more of the following:

  • Peter (Andrew) Tranchell's name;
  • the "Tu es Petrus" plainchant melody;
  • any aspect of Peter Tranchell’s music or life.

Submission

Compositions are to be submitted by email AND by post, including the following:

By email to info@peter-tranchell.uk:

  1. a PDF score suitable for printing on A4 paper. NB the name of the composer or other identifying information must not appear on the score.
  2. a biography of the composer, including the composer's full name (no more than 500 words) as Word or PDF document.
  3. an account of the uses of the themes in the Brief (no more than 500 words) in a Word or PDF document.
  4. if possible, MusicXML of the score.
  5. Optional: a recording (MP3 realization or private live recording) of the piece (noting there must have been no public performance or published recording).

AND by post to: PAT100 Composition Competition, 1 Fronwen Terrace, Cradoc Road, Brecon, LD3 9HB

  1. Five (5) printed copies of the score, suitable for performance (bound, pages numbered, the title of the piece on the cover sheet). NB the name of the composer or other identifying information must not appear on the score.
  2. The printed, completed and signed registration form.
  3. A printed copy of the biography of the composer (no more than 500 words).
  4. Five (5) printed accounts of the uses of the themes in the Brief (no more than 500 words). NB the name of the composer or other identifying information must not appear on this document.

Submissions will be forwarded to members of the judging panel anonymously.

All items must be received by by 23:59 on 2nd September 2022.