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SPLICE FESTIVAL IV IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING Proposals

With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are in what feels like a perpetual state of uncertainty, fear, and isolation. Many of us have lost work and had performances and premieres cancelled. It is easy to feel isolated and alone. 

But we are truly not alone, as all of us are in this together! Music has helped humanity through its darkest hours on countless occasions, and our music and art will do so again. 

It is therefore with hope and optimism that SPLICE is announcing a call for proposals for its fourth annual SPLICE Festival, taking place at University of Georgia in Athens, Thursday-Saturday October 22-24, 2020. SPLICE welcomes proposals from performers, composers, composer/performer teams, and composer-performers for works that feature human-driven live performance (on traditional or nontraditional instruments) and electronics (fixed or live), one-hour hands-on workshops, and fifteen-minute lectures. 

SPLICE Festival will include five concerts, along with presentations and hands-on workshop sessions. Concerts will feature performances selected from submitted works, a curated concert by the SPLICE Ensemble, and a concert featuring violist Maggie Snyder, the Modular Ensemble, and Subaerial Collective. Presentations and workshops will serve UGA students and festival attendees. 

The future is unknowable, but we have nothing without hope. Let us gather and make music together!

Proposals may include (but are not limited to): 

  • Participant performances of works 

  • A new piece composed for SPLICE Ensemble or Subaerial Collective

  • A piece to be performed by members of the Modular Ensemble

  • A piece to be performed by Maggie Snyder

  • Hands-on workshops 

  • Lecture presentations 

Proposal Guidelines

Concert Work Proposals 

• All works must include a live performance component 

• All works must include electronics, either fixed or live 

• Works less than 20 minutes are preferred 

• Due to the collaborative spirit promoted by SPLICE Festival, we strongly prefer that the performers listed on the application be those who will perform at the Festival

SPLICE Ensemble Proposals 

• Pieces do not need to have been composed at the time of the proposal 

• Proposals may be for arrangements or already composed pieces in addition to new works

• Works less than 20 minutes are preferred 

• Any combination of instruments (trumpet, piano, percussion) is welcome, though preference will be given to works including all three performers 

• Preference will be given to works whose electronic component can be operated by the Ensemble (i.e., pieces do not require a fourth person running electronics) 

• All three members of the SPLICE Ensemble can perform electronics (instead of their instruments) 

• Include a written statement proposing the nature of the collaboration 

• Pieces should involve only one computer/interface 

• Percussion instruments are limited to a drum set consisting of:

• Kick drum 

• Snare drum (can substitute Frame drum) 

• Rack-mounted Tom toms (2)

• Floor Tom

• High hat 

• Crash cymbals (2)

• Ride cymbal 

• Trap table of various small percussion objects (prayer bowls, wood blocks, coffee cans, toys, etc.)* 

*The Ensemble is open to various small objects, but asks that these be determined in consultation with the Ensemble. 

Modular Ensemble Proposals 

• Pieces need to have been composed at the time of the proposal, and arrangements of existing pieces will be considered

• Pieces may be submitted for the entire ensemble or for any subset of the ensemble

• Pieces must be in stereo

• Modular Ensemble includes:

Timothy Adams (percussion)

Josh Bynum (trombone)

Heather Bynum (clarinet)

Connie Frigo (saxophone)

Greg Hankins (piano)

Subaerial Collective Proposals 

  • Pieces do not need to have been composed at the time of the proposal 

  • Proposals may be for arrangements or already composed pieces in addition to new works

  • Pieces must be in stereo

  • Subaerial Collective includes:

Peter Van Zandt Lane (bassoon)

Emily Koh (contrabass)

Adrian Childs (piano)

Presentation and Workshop Proposals 

  • We encourage proposals for 15-minute lecture presentations and for one-hour hands-on workshops.

  • Lecture presentations may focus on the technical and/or aesthetic features of a submitted work, including performance, creative practices, and/or technology. 

  • One-hour hands-on workshops will take place in UGA’s MuTec lab, which is a computer lab with 25 seats and an additional instructor station with amplification/projection. The lab is equipped with iMacs, midi controllers, and headphones. Software includes Logic, Max, Adobe suite (including Audition), and a variety of notation and music editing software. Other necessary software not currently installed (i.e. PD, SuperCollider, etc) can be installed as-needed in advance of workshops.


General Submission Guidelines 

• There is no application fee 

• Submissions must be received by April 15, 2020 at 11:59 PM EDT 

• Individuals can be involved in no more than two submissions 

• The primary submitter of the work must attend the entire festival and remit a $20 registration fee 

• Submissions must include a list of tech requirements, including what the presenter is asking SPLICE to provide.

• SPLICE Festival will have two concert spaces, one with an 8-channel sound system, the other with a stereo sound system

• Only online submissions will be considered 

• Supporting materials must be provided as links to files; file uploads are not permitted. 

• Applicants will be notified by May 1 , 2020

• Please direct all questions to festival@splicemusic.org 

• Please visit https://splicemusic.org/festival/iv/call to submit a proposal 

Required with Submission 

• Contact information 

• List of performers and instruments 

• Links to stream or download a recording of the work; mockups are acceptable 

• Links to view or download a score, if applicable 

• List of equipment you will provide 

• List of equipment you will need SPLICE Festival to provide 

• Short Bios (150 word maximum) for all individuals involved 

• Program Notes 

• A two to four sentence proposal for a fifteen-minute presentation on the submitted work (optional) 

• A four sentence proposal for a one-hour hands-on workshop (optional) 

• An agreement to attend the entire event