APTA invites your submissions of an original composition for any solo instrument, including voice, or any combination of instruments, to the annual Creative Music Writing Competition. Entrants will receive a critique of their work by a highly qualified adjudicator in August. Award winners and those receiving honourable mention will be invited to perform their selection at the annual CMWC Concert in late September.
The CMWC opens for submission June 1 and closes June 30. Entrants will be contacted to confirm receipt of their complete and correct submission at the beginning of July, and again in August with the adjudicator’s critique.
Competition Rules
Please be sure to read all rules carefully before submitting your application. Late and incomplete or incorrect entries will not be accepted. Scores and recordings must be anonymous.
- This competition is only open to APTA members and their students. Entries are only accepted online.
- Each entry must be the original work of the entrant and not previously submitted to this competition or a revised submission. Entrants may receive assistance from others with transcribing only, but the composition must otherwise be their own work.
- Entrants must be amateurs (i.e. unpublished).
- Submissions can be from students or teachers. The levels listed are for the students’ current level of study. Teaching pieces can be for any level.
Levels
- Pre-Junior – preparatory level
- Junior – levels 1-4
- Intermediate – Levels 5-7
- Advanced – levels 8 and up
- Teaching Piece – any level. Composed by a teacher for student use. Please mark the intended level on the composition.
Fees
- Up to 32 bars – $30 per entry.
- Over 32 bars – $45 per entry.
Requirements
Each entry must include:
- A completed online application with payment. All fields must be completed, including the biographical submission.
- An .mp3 audio recording or video uploaded to YouTube/Vimeo that is anonymous (only hands/keys showing, not face or body); and
- An anonymous score (the entrant’s name cannot be on the document). The score can be neatly handwritten in black ink and scanned to PDF, or a PDF generated by music notation software. Manuscripts must include bar numbers minimum every 5th bar. Tempo markings, dynamics and other performance instructions should be included. If a name is on the score, or a video is not anonymous, the submission will be returned. Background information and description paragraphs for compositions are also welcome as part of the score, as long as the document remains anonymous.
Entries for the CMWC must be submitted electronically by June 30. Late entries WILL NOT be accepted.
Scholarships
“My First APTA Composition”
$88 – Sponsored by APTA. This scholarship will be drawn from those student entries where it is the first time this student has entered.
Adjudicator Choice
$50, 75 or 100, depending on the level of the piece
Pre-Junior
Preparatory level – $50
Junior
Levels 1-4 – $75
Intermediate
Levels 5-7 – $75
Advanced
Levels 8 and up – $100
Teaching Piece
Any level. Composed by a teacher for student use – $75
Honourable Mention
A music book by the featured composer/adjudicator. One per level.
Apply here
To receive further information about the Creative Music Writing Competition, please contact:
This year’s adjudicator: Ina Dykstra!
Ms. Ina Dykstra received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at the University of Alberta, where she studied with Dr. Ernesto Lejano, Dr. Helmut Brauss and Isobel Rolston. She also went on to complete Graduate Degree courses in Art Song, Collaborative Piano, Chamber Music and Solo Performance.
Ms. Dykstra holds a degree in Music Therapy from Capilano College in Vancouver, and has worked with a wide variety of students of all ages and all abilities, from the very gifted to those with various special needs.
She is also a composer, and has written many solo piano works for all levels. Her compositions are can be found in the “Let’s Play” series of books (Preparatory to Advanced), as well as other piano solos for all ages. Ina’s piece “Leafy Sea Dragon’ is featured in the 2022 Level 7 Etudes book affiliated with the Royal Conservatory of music. Ina has given workshops and Master Classes for teachers and students on a variety of topics, some of which include:
- Duet/Duo-Piano music
- Canadian compositions
- An Introduction to Student Composition
- Piano Teaching: Where do we begin?
She has also been active at “Summer Sizzle”, a young composers’ music camp created by the Canadian National Conservatory of Music, as well as “Strings and Keys”, a summer camp in Alberta.
Ina is a member of the College of Examiners with the Royal Conservatory of Music and conducts both remote and in-person RCM exams across the country.
While living in Victoria for 10 years, Ina was concert chair for the Victoria Branch of the BCRMTA. She was also involved in Canada Music Week preparations and concerts each year. Presently she is a member of ARMTA in Alberta, and has an active studio back in her home community of St. Albert, Alberta.
Ms. Dykstra has a deep commitment to furthering musical education, creativity, and artistry. She has over 50 years of experience as an accompanist, performer, clinician, examiner, adjudicator, composer and inspiring teacher.