This year the Winners' Concert will take place at the historic Church of the Ascension, Fifth Avenue at Tenth Street, in New York City, in May 2011, as part of the Inaugural Concerts celebrating a spectacular new organ at the church built by Pascal Quoirin of St. Didier, France. The winning compositions will be performed by the world famous Voices of Ascension, conducted by Dennis Keene, as part of their 2010-2011 subscription series. The landmark church is the home base of the Voices of Ascension, and is nationally known for its extraordinary acoustics.

The Sorel Organization is proud to invite the 2008 1st place winner of their Medallion program, Chia-Yu-Hsu, to premiere her new solo organ commissioning, 5 Essences, on the new Quoirin instrument. "This initiative is to make certain that The Sorel Organization's support will last much longer than one contest" quotes Judy Cope, their executive director. Also on the program will be Zoltan Kodaly's Missa Brevis for 40 voice choir and organ accompaniment.

The Jury

The Jury is chaired by Dr. Ronald Sadoff, Director of Film Scoring at New York University’s Steinhardt School. Ten compositions will be presented to the board of directors of Voices of Ascension and Dennis Keene. They will choose three finalists to compete in the gala event, May 2011. Dr. Keene may choose a conductor's request to be included on the program at his discretion.

Who is eligible?
• Women composers.
• Composers of any nationality.
• All works are required to be non-published.
Prizes
• This year the winners' concert will take place at the historic Church of the Ascension, Fifth Avenue at Tenth Street, in New York City, as part of the Inaugural Concerts celebrating the Pascal Quoirin organ.
• An AGMA approved recording will be provided for reproduction.
• Private sessions with the conductor to discuss interpretation will be scheduled prior to the rehearsal.
• Hotel and travel expenses covered for the rehearsals and concert.
• Cash prizes will be awarded the night of the concert: $5000, $2000, and $1000 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
• A VIP list of area conductors, composers, publishers, and reviewers will be in attendance at the gala concert.
• The Sorel Organization will market and promote this gala event.
Submission
• All pieces should be submitted to the Sorel Organization by January 15, 2011.
• Submit 5 copies of the original non-published work.
• Each composer may enter one composition with no fee for submission.
• A signed entry form must accompany each work.
• The composer’s name, address, telephone number and e-mail address should appear only on the entry form but not on the scores.
• No recordings will be accepted.
• After the competition is completed, one copy will go to Patricia Chiti at La Donna Musica Library in Rome Italy. The Sorel office will hold an archival copy and the remaining copies will be destroyed. No copies will be returned to the composer.
Composition requirements
• Scores must be no longer than 11 minutes. All pieces exceeding 11 minutes will be disqualified.
• Scores must be written for chorus and organ. There will be 40 singers in the Voices of Ascension for this performance.
• The Quoirin organ, a very large organ, will be highly eclectic in design, with enormous range of color and dynamic. It has been designed specifically to offer the wide range of possibilities that contemporary composers might want. For the complete stop list, go to http://nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/AscensionEpis.html and look at the stop list of the "Electric Console" (the console an accompanist would use). Composers with further questions about the organ may contact Judy@sorelmusic.org.
• Small solo work is permitted.
• Sacred or secular text.
• English translation must be provided for all foreign texts.
• Accompaniment options:
o Works must be accompanied by organ.
o No a cappella works are permitted in the 2010 contest.
o Chamber Ensemble, winds and percussion for one player are accepted.
• If the submitted lyrics are not in the public domain, and the composer is not the author and copyright holder of the lyrics, permission must be enclosed.
• Entries must be printed using notation software only.
• Entries must be mailed. Faxed or e-mail compositions will not be accepted.
• Each composer will be notified by mail or e-mail of receipt of the entry.
All questions should be directed to the Foundation's Executive Director:
The Sorel Organization
Judy Cope, Executive Director
28 West 44th Street, Suite 711
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-730-3552
e mail Judy Cope