Harmonium Extends Deadline for the Student Choral Composition Contest

Harmonium Choral Society extended the deadline from March 3 to March 29, 2014 to allow for as many high school students as possible to participate in its 17th Annual New Jersey High School Student Choral Composition Contest. As previously announced, the contest is open to all high school students in the State of New Jersey. A new video about the student composition contest and how the program has impacted the lives and careers of former contest winners is now available. See video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC6LkYyv72s.

Student composers have until March 29, 2014 to submit their original choral compositions to Harmonium. Compositions must be five minutes or less in length with text based on the Latin poem "Musica Dei donum optimi," Psalm 149, or selected works by William Shakespeare, Christina Rossetti, Thomas Hardy, Sara Teasdale and William Henry Davies. To view the list of texts, guidelines and additional contest materials, visit www.harmonium.org.

The winning compositions will be selected by a panel of judges consisting of professional musicians, composers and music educators. The Grand Prize winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and $250 will be awarded to a Runner-Up. In addition, the sponsoring teachers of the winning student composers will receive a monetary award. The winners will be notified in April.

The winning compositions will be performed and recorded live during the Harmonium June concert "Sing a New Song.” The concert takes place on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, N.J.

Harmonium has received national recognition by winning the prestigious Chorus America Education and Outreach Award for its sponsorship of the student choral composition contest as well as other educational initiatives. To help support this innovative program, please visit www.harmonium.org or send contributions by mail to Harmonium Choral Society, P.O. Box 1317, Morristown, NJ 07962-1317.