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I have written this as part of the Christmas music project. It's a revision of a carol I wrote a couple of years ago (which can be found here) based on Shakespeare's "Song of the Holly." It is for SATB choir and an accompaniment.

This is my submission for the Summer Competition. Please read the Program Notes for further explanation. As usual, comments and feedback is absolutely welcome! Thanks in advance...

This is a Christmas carol for SATB chorus, based on William Shakespeare's poem "Song of the Holly"

Hello, friends! I am very new to this forum, and just thought I would put this setting of Shakespeare's 8th Sonnet out here. I am open to any criticisms or feedback you have to offer. I apologize for the sub-par recording. The choir did not have overlong to rehearse, and the tenor and sopranos are especially strident sometimes. Which may be partly my fault at times, but it wasn't all my fault! Haha.

This was a project I did for English class where I wrote a duet for french horn and piano to represent the two ways the character Caliban is viewed in Shakespeare's play, the Tempest. The outside sections show him as a devil, the inside shows his humanlike qualities. I would love to hear feedback on this!

YC 2016 SUMMER COMPETITION RESULTS Reviewing and scoring has been completed by the judges. Before I share the results, I just want to say a few things: Firstly, I again want to congratulate all the entrants who participated. You guys really stepped up and submitted some wonderful entries! I also hope we can have this type of participation in future competitions! Secondly, I want to thank the judges for their time. I'm sure they would all agree with me when I say that it was really hard to pick a winner for this contest. Thirdly, and most importantly....all scores/reviews are highly subjective, as usual. If you have a problem, or need further clarification, please show good sportsmanship spirit and kindly ask individual judges instead of whining about it on a public forum. For reference, below are the entries that were submitted: Monarcheon's Variations on a Wanderer's Theme: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34087/variations-on-a-wanderers-theme/ Marc 'O C's Airs from Titus Andronicus: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34092/airs-from-titus-andronicus/ Ken320's Everything that Grows: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34093/everything-that-grows/ Jared S. Destro's King Lear Overture: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34098/king-lear-overture-in-c-minor/ Luderart's Nine Sententiae for String Trio Op. 277: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34101/nine-sententiae-for-string-trio-op-277/ Fishyfry's Like as the Waves Make Towards the Pebbled Shore: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34114/like-as-the-waves-make-towards-the-pebbled-shore/ Gylfi's Chant and Variations: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34115/chant-and-variations-on-shakespeare‘s-127th-sonnet/ Noah Brode's Coriolanus: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34116/coriolanus/ Austenite's Julius Caesar, Op. 41: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34117/julius-caesar-op-41/ KJ's Hamlet: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34118/hamlet-ycf-summer-competition-entry/ And now, without further ado, here are the tabulated scores (in order of submission): Variations on a Wanderer’s Theme - Monarcheon danishali903: 53 Bkho: 50 Sojar: 52 Johnbucket: 39.5 TOTAL: 194.5/200 Airs from Titus Andronicus - Marc O’ Callaghan danishali903: 36 Bkho: 39.5 Sojar: 41.5 Johnbucket: 26.5 TOTAL: 143.5/200 Everything that Grows - Ken320 danishali903: 53 Bkho: 50 Sojar: 54 Johnbucket: 40.5 TOTAL: 197.5/200 King Lear Overture - Jared S. Destro danishali903: 33.5 Bkho: 45.5 Sojar: 36 Johnbucket: 31.5 TOTAL: 146.5/200 Nine Sententiae for String Trio - Luderart danishali903: 36 Bkho: 37 Sojar: 40 Johnbucket: 23.5 TOTAL: 136.5/200 Like as the Waves Make Towards the Pebbled Shore - Fishyfry danishali903: 42 Bkho: 46.5 Sojar: 46.5 Johnbucket: 33.5 TOTAL: 168.5/200 Chant and Variations on Shakespeare’s 127th Sonnet - Gylfi danishali903: 37 Bkho: 38.5 Sojar: 36 Johnbucket: 43 TOTAL: 154.5/200 Coriolanus - Noah Brode danishali903: 40 Bkho: 45.5 Sojar: 41.5 Johnbucket: 31 TOTAL: 158/200 Julius Caesar Op.41 - Austenite danishali903: 50 Bkho: 49.5 Sojar: 51.5 Johnbucket: 40.5 TOTAL: 191.5/200 Hamlet - KJthesleepdeprived danishali903: 39 Bkho: 45 Sojar: 41.5 Johnbucket: 35.5 TOTAL: 161/200 RANKINGS: 1st: Ken320 2nd: Monarcheon 3rd: Austenite Congratulations to Ken320, the winner of YC's Summer 2016 Competition!

SUMMER COMPETITION - 2016 Hello! As part of the website's recent "makeover", we have decided to bring back the seasonal competitions after a hiatus. As of now, these competitions will be held on a seasonal quarterly basis, each based on a specific theme/topic. If anyone has suggestions for future competitions, please send me a private message on this site. As some of you know, this year marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. For those of you unfamiliar with Shakespeare, he was a renowned poet and playwright who wrote many of the English language's greatest works, including 38 stage plays (which include the famous plays Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, etc.) and 154 sonnets. Many composers have been inspired by Shakespeare's works and adapted his works into musical forms. Some examples include: Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, Verdi's operas Macbeth and Othello, Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet, and many more. As you probably guessed by now, the competition's theme is Shakespeare! Please read the specific instructions below regarding topic, scoring, etc. Topic: Compose a piece based on something Shakespeare wrote. This could include incidental music to his stage plays, music inspired by any of his works, set his poems/sonnets/etc. to music. Guidelines: Anyone who is a member of this site is allowed to enter. (Though we'll have an unofficial sign up at the bottom) No restrictions on instrumentation - it can be for a solo piano, full orchestra with chorus, or anything in between The minimum length of the piece is 5 minutes, maximum up to 20 minutes Piece can be in multiple movements, but overall maximum time must not exceed 20 minutes You have to submit audio (midi, live, whatever) AND a score to be eligible for scoring by the deadline- NO EXCUSES If you decide to volunteer as a judge, you may NOT enter as a participant! Scoring Criteria - The point system is arbitrary at the moment and might be amended later on Piece's relation to chosen Shakespeare work - pretty self explanatory: /15 points Structure and coherence - also pretty self explanatory: /15 points Instrumentation/Orchestration - how well did you write for your instrument(s), etc.: /10 points Quality of the Score: /8 points Audio Quality: /2 points (Points above [in total out of 50 pts] are given at the judges' discretion: for instance, with "Structure and coherence", an entrant can be given anywhere between 0-15pts.) 5 BONUS points will be given (at the discretion of the judges) if entrant provides a PDF program of their work. DEADLINE: While I don't have a specific deadline at the moment, I WOULD like everything (including getting judges' scores and awarding winners) by September 1st. SO, I will set an arbitrary deadline of AUGUST 15, 2016. We will have an unofficial signup just to gauge interest. If you are interested in entering as a participant, please state your interest by replying to this thread. If you don't feel like competing, you can also sign up to be a judge for this competition. Since there will only 3-4 open positions for being a judge, we'll have a first-come-first-serve rule. SO, if you have any questions and/or concerns, please don't hesitate to voice them below in this thread, or contact me. Have fun composing and good luck to those who participate! PLEASE DO NOT POST MUSIC ON THIS THREAD. I will make another thread where we'll gather all the entries. ENTRIES ARE POSTED HERE: http://www.youngcomposers.com/t34086/summer-competition-2016-entries/ Confirmed Entrants (this list will be updated...please let me know if your name doesn't show up): Austenite AmaraAppogiature KJ mk390 J.S. Destro Fishyfry ChristianP (who has already completed his piece, you slowpokes!) Marc O'C. NoahB. Ken320 Casper Belier Alexander Mika gesisignature Monarcheon Gylfi Confirmed Judges (ALL SLOTS FILLED) Bkho JohnBucket Sojar danishali903

Hi, This is my entry for the summer competition, I hope you enjoy. Some notes not covered by the program notes: 1) I know there are some minor errors in the score, namely lack of "instrument names" in the second variation. I didn't notice them until too late and I do not have the files with me to correct them - so be it. I also know that the variations are not titled, that was somewhat intentional but mostly a cause of me not having enough time to properly finish the score. Actually, Lilypond is my engraver of choice but I really didn't have time for all that noise this time around so I had to use MuseScore, which is just about the only thing I hate more than Lilypond. 2) I apologize for the lackluster quality of the audio. I was originally planning to record it myself in some sense of the word but again, time constraints caught up to me and I had to rely on MIDI which fails to convey much of what is in the score. 3) This was planned to be a set of five variations but I couldn't complete the two remaining variations in time so it is only a set of three as is. I plan to continue working on them and may post this work again in its completed form later on, perhaps with a real performance. These variations would have been the very first variation and the very last. So the ones you hear here are just the middle three - If it sounds like the piece ends abruptly that's because it does. EDIT: 4) Even though I said in the program notes that the microtones shouldn't be quarter tones, the playback does indeed only have quarter tones. It's not because that's the only thing that was available to me, I actually have very tight control of the intonation, but without real overtones the effect is a little bit too subtle to be exciting. Of course, singing quarter tones is just as impossible as singing in equal temperament, so the recording should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. 5) The music is very intricately tied to the text in a literal way but there is also a philosophical connection which is so impossibly personal that I would rather not talk about it. I'll leave that to the listeners to discover, or better yet, decide for themselves what the text means to them.

Hello all, This is my entry for this summer's Shakespeare contest. It is based on two soliloquies from the play Titus Andronicus. Enjoy! Marc

This piece of mine - Soliloquy for Violin No. 28: A Personal Reflection on Shakespeare's "To Be or Not to Be" Question (Hamlet) ('Mi'* Be; Do Be; 'Mi' Be) - was inspired in response to the competition on the theme of Shakespeare that is currently being held in this website. However, it falls short of one of the criteria of the the competition in being less than five minutes long. I consider it to be one of my good pieces and so wanted to still share it. I hope you enjoy it. As for the extra-musical associations of the piece, I have already explained in the score via asterisks which I reproduce below: Mi ('մի') means "Don't" in Armenian. Therefore the beginning 3 measures "E B C B E B" translate to "Mi B Do B Mi B" and then to "Don't Be; Do Be; Don't Be", like an obsessive question haunting its victim. Regarding the last two notes of the piece, B & E, these last two notes end the piece, after four bars asserting "Do B(e)" again and again, by the note-word combination "Be Me", thus giving us a reason to choose to be, the notes at the same time spelling/commanding "BE"! I have tried as much as I can not to let the extramusical associations effect the quality of the music, even thought the music itself arises largely from them! To be sure, the music, in translating notes into words and words into notes, etc, might be taking the "To be or not to be" question a little to literally, but I hope that the music itself also gives some sense of the issues that the question deals with. It is for you to decide how far it has succeeded. I look forward to your feedback.

My submission for the Shakespeare summer competition. Looking forward to hearing from the judges. Hope anyone else who listens enjoys, and comments of any sort are always welcome.

This is my submission to Danish's Summer Shakespeare contest. I hope that I put everything in its right place.

Hello all! This is my entry for the summer competition based on a work by Shakespeare. I connected the most with his tragedy King Lear, and so I wrote a large orchestral piece about it, with various moments from the play annotated (corresponding to the music). Enjoy!

This is my entry for the Shakespeare contest. It's an elegiac song upon the famous Macbeth's soliloquy. Hope you enjoy^^

This thread is only for entrants for the summer competition to post their entries. If you have comments/questions/concerns, please post them on the competition announcement thread: Directions (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY): 1. DO NOT UPLOAD YOUR ENTRY DIRECTLY TO THIS THREAD! 2. Upload your music as if you would in one of the appropriate composition category threads (orchestral/large ensembles, chamber, choral, etc.) 3. Copy the link and paste it on this thread. PLEASE DO NOT POST ANYTHING ELSE EXCEPT ENTRIES! I also have reposted the scoring guideline below for reference: Piece's relation to chosen Shakespeare work - pretty self explanatory: /15 points Structure and coherence - also pretty self explanatory: /15 points Instrumentation/Orchestration - how well did you write for your instrument(s), etc.: /10 points Quality of the Score: /8 points Audio Quality: /2 points (Points above [in total out of 50 pts] are given at the judges' discretion: for instance, with "Structure and coherence", an entrant can be given anywhere between 0-15pts.) 5 BONUS points will be given (at the discretion of the judges) if entrant provides a PDF program of their work. The deadline to submit is August 15th, 11:59 PM EST. NO EXCEPTIONS! Good Luck to Everyone!

Hello to all fellow composers. I have been thinking a lot about composing another opera, but I am having trouble in finding a good story that would be suitable for it. It might help if I tell you a bit about my previous operas that I have written in the past few years. My first attempt in this field was made in late 2008. I was only about eleven when I made up my mind to compose a two hour long opera based on the Andersen fairy tale "The Swineherd." It was about a prince who wants to win the heart of a princess in a nearby kingdom. He sends over priceless gifts which she pretty much ignores completely. The prince then disguises himself as a Swineherd to get a job at her palace. He makes musical toys for her, but she can have them for the price of giving the Swineherd a certain amount of kisses. At the end of the story the prince reveals himself and tells the princess that she would not accept his tokens of love, but would kiss a Swineherd for some simple toys. I abandoned this opera after several attempts. My first actual opera is called "The Death of Osiris." It tells the ancient Egyptian myth of Osiris' murder and how his sister/wife Isis came to find him only for their evil brother Seth (who killed him in the first place) to slice the body into so many pieces and scatter them all over the earth. The final scenes are about how Isis retrieved the segments of Osiris' body and gives them proper burial ceremonies while Osiris becomes the god of the afterlife. In the original myth, Osiris' genitals get eaten by a fish after he is sliced up and Isis has to make an artificial thing for him, but I decided to leave that part out. My parents disagree with that decision. My second opera is scored for only six instrumentalists and six singers and is over a third of the length of "The Death of Osiris." This comic chamber opera is called "The King's Horn." It is based on a Macedonian folk tale about a King who was born, much to his parents' dismay, with a horn growing out of the top of his head. Throughout his life he has managed to keep his secret under his hat (or rather crown) but one day he needs a barber to cut and style his hair to conceal his strange growth, but the barber (who is extremely talkative) has the difficult task not to tell anyone. With this overwhelming amount of pressure, he decided to run far away from everyone so no one finds out (the King said that he will cut off the barber's head if anyone finds out). He comes across a cave and feeling sure that no one is around he yells out the words "The King has a horn!" A short while later, some reed begin to grow in that spot and are made into flutes by the children, but when they play these flutes the words "the king has a horn" sing out. When the king finds out what happened and what the barber did, he realises that his horn isn't really anything to be worried about, but it's the person underneath that counts. The opera ends with the villagers singing "What Nature reveals, no one can conceal." So those are my operas so far. For my third, I have been thinking of using Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night," but I have also come across a true story about a Russian aristocrat who is turned against by the other citizens and is to be killed, so he runs away from his country in fear that someone will find him. Is there anyone out there who could give me some advice on finding a suitable story for an opera? Perhaps you could tell me about some of your own operas as well. Thanks, froglegs