The Silk Road Orchestration Competition & Live Showcase

The Silk Road Orchestration Competition invites composers and orchestrators with a keen ear for orchestration and a spirit of sonic exploration. This competition offers participants a rare opportunity to hear their arrangements for Chinese instruments rehearsed and performed live. Fifteen selected works will receive a live ensemble rehearsal, performance, and professional audio recording.

Important Dates

• Registration and submission deadline: November 16
• Selected works announced: November 23 (selected composers will be notified by email)
• Live event: December 5; check-in begins at 4:00 PM

Event Overview

• Venue: Shanghai No. 1 Banquet Hall, 250 Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA
• Guest judges: Chunquan Qu and Jinyi Jiang

Required Themes and Instrumentation

1. Required traditional Chinese melody

Participants must select one of the following melodies for their arrangement:

• Drunken Ecstasy
• The Flowing Little River
• The General’s Command

2. Chamber ensemble instrumentation (12 performers)

• Conductor × 1
• Dizi × 1
• Suona × 1
• Pipa × 2
• Guzheng × 1
• Yangqin × 1
• Erhu × 2
• Cello × 1
• Double bass × 1
• Percussion × 1 (Chinese bass drum, large gong, woodblock, and small cymbals)

Honors and Awards

• Fifteen selected works: Each selected work will receive a live performance and professional audio recording, an official certificate of recognition, and feedback from the guest judges.
• Top three winners: The three winners will receive a commission opportunity to orchestrate a large-scale Chinese orchestral work for the American Chinese Music Ensemble’s 2027 concert.

Fees

• Performance and recording fee: A tentative fee of $250 per selected work, including one dinner seat for the selected composer.
• Live observation and dinner: $30 per person, including admission to the full event and dinner at Shanghai No. 1.

Registration and Submission Guidelines

Registration information

• Name
• Email
• Piece title
• Selected theme
• Duration (maximum 3 minutes)

Required submission materials

• Score: A complete score in PDF format.
• Mockup audio: An MP3 audio file.

Blind Review Policy

To ensure a fair and impartial review process, the submitted score PDF and mockup audio MP3 must not include the participant’s name. Only the piece title may appear on the score cover and interior pages. Submissions containing personal identification may be disqualified.

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丝绸之路配器比赛面向拥有敏锐配器听觉并勇于探索声音的作曲家与配器者。比赛为参赛者提供难得的机会，让他们亲耳聆听自己为中国民族乐器创作的编配作品接受现场排练与演出。15首入选作品均将获得现场乐团排练、演出以及专业录音。

重要日期

• 报名与投稿截止日期：11月16日
• 入选作品公布日期：11月23日（入选作曲家将通过电子邮件收到通知）
• 现场活动日期：12月5日，下午4:00开始签到

活动概览

• 地点：上海1号宴会厅，250 Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA
• 特邀评委：Chunquan Qu、Jinyi Jiang

指定曲目与编制

1. 指定中国传统曲目

参赛者须从以下曲目中任选一首进行编配：

• 《酒狂》
• 《小河淌水》
• 《将军令》

2. 室内乐团编制（共12人）

• 指挥 × 1
• 笛子 × 1
• 唢呐 × 1
• 琵琶 × 2
• 古筝 × 1
• 扬琴 × 1
• 二胡 × 2
• 大提琴 × 1
• 低音提琴 × 1
• 打击乐 × 1（中国大鼓、大锣、木鱼及小钹）

荣誉与奖项

• 15首入选作品：每首入选作品均将获得现场演出及专业录音、官方荣誉证书，以及特邀评委的专业点评。
• 前三名获奖者：三位获奖者将获得委约机会，为美国中华国乐团2027年音乐会编配一部大型中国管弦乐作品。

费用

• 演出与录音费用：每首入选作品暂定收费250美元，其中包括入选作曲家的一份晚餐席位。
• 现场观摩与晚餐：每人30美元，包括全程活动入场及上海1号晚餐。

报名与投稿指南

报名信息

• 姓名
• 电子邮箱
• 作品名称
• 所选主题
• 作品时长（最长3分钟）

必须提交的材料

• 总谱：PDF格式的完整总谱。
• 模拟音频：MP3格式的音频文件。

匿名评审规则

为确保评审过程公平公正，提交的PDF总谱与MP3模拟音频中不得出现参赛者姓名。总谱封面及内页仅可显示作品名称。包含个人身份信息的投稿可能会被取消参赛资格。