The ORGANIZERS of the West Wicklow Chamber Festival are now accepting entries for their 2022 composition competition.

fter the festival’s live co-production with Deutsche Grammophon live from Berlin in February, the West Wicklow Chamber Festival presented eight concerts online in May and June, with nearly 19,000 viewers from 46 different countries to watch through YouTube and Facebook . Their first “winter weekend” in November featured three sold-out concerts in Russborough.

A program is already planned for 2022, with Irish and international artists.

The Composition Competition is open to all emerging composers, and participants are invited to submit a three to four minute piece for clarinet and piano.

Admission is free and the winning composer will receive a prize of € 350 and their winning work will receive a world premiere at the West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival “Rising Star” recital at St. Mary’s Church, Blessington on Saturday May 21, performed by Cathal Killeen on clarinet and Órán Halligan on piano.

They will also be included in the festival advertising and will be able to collaborate and rehearse with all the performers.

The work must not have been performed in public before its world premiere at the festival.

Applicants can only submit one work and applications will be assessed anonymously by an independent jury.

Nominations can be submitted by visiting the West Wicklow Chamber Festival website and completing an online nomination form. Proof of Irish citizenship or current residence along with the title, MIDI file and PDF score of the new work must be uploaded.

In order to ensure that applications are judged anonymously, the festival will only accept applications from scores without mentioning the name or address of a composer.

The registration deadline is Wednesday March 16.