The Musical Arts Youth Orchestra (MAYO) seeks an upbeat, up-tempo piece appropriate as a concert opener or concert closer—an energetic, exciting piece that will have the audience on its feet. (Dancing or cheering or both.) Feel free to be innovative—don’t hesitate to use dramatic elements, visual elements, pop or rock or jazz elements, props, costumes, unexpected sounds—you get the idea. And don’t hesitate to involve the audience. Composition length should be a maximum of eight (8) minutes, minimum of three (3) minutes. DEADLINE: Saturday, November 7, 2009.

Instrumentation: up to 2+1, 2+1, 2+1, 2, 4, 3, 3, 1, tmp +perc, str (the iMAYO Festival orchestra typically boasts as many as 120 members)

Eligibility: The senior division is open to composers enrolled in Indiana University Jacobs School of Music composition courses in the fall semester of 2009. The junior division is open to any young composer in grades K through 12 during the fall semester of 2009 who resides in the counties served by MAYO.[1] Submitted compositions must be original and previously unpublished.

Entry fee: There is no entry fee, but the expense of printing score and parts is the responsibility of the contestant. (Note that scores and parts will be needed from all finalists for the playoff performance on January 19. Due date for scores and parts is December 6, 2009.)

Selection process: Our panel is made up of members of the Composition faculty from the Jacobs School of Music, plus MAYO Music Director Jose Valencia. The panel will select a maximum of four finalists from the senior division and two finalists from the junior division. Compositions chosen in this way will be performed at an open playoff concert on January 18, 2010. The winning composition will be announced at the playoffs. Composers should understand that rehearsal time before the playoffs will be short. They will want to design pieces that can enrapture an audience even under

Senior Division Prize: $500 in cash, college division, and one guaranteed performance of the winning piece by the MAYO Symphony Orchestra on its concert on Sunday April 10.

Junior Division Prize: One guaranteed performance of the winning junior division piece within one year of the announcement.

Restrictions: MAYO reserves the right to declare that a winner does not exist if the entry requirements and musical standards are not fulfilled.

Publication: Should the winning composition be published, it must carry the designation Winner, 2010 Musical Arts Youth Orchestra Competition on score and individual parts. Upon publication, all royalties will remain the sole property of the composer.

PDFs can be mailed on disk to MAYO, 122 S. Walnut Street, Suite M, Bloomington IN 47404 or email it to info@mayomusic.org.

Notification of finalists: Finalists will be notified by Sunday, November 22, 2009. The announcement will be made at the MAYO concert that evening.