Composition Celebration

The 2010 Portland District Composition Celebration will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, February 27, at Classic Pianos. The deadline for scores will be Feb. 12, 2010. To register, click here.

The Composition Celebration is a non-competitive music festival where students compose and perform their own music in a supportive and encouraging environment.  The event is open to students (age K-12) of all instruments. Compositions of all musical styles are welcome.

Students submit their compositions at the time of application. The piece, which can be of any length, must be scored by the student (not the teacher) — either by hand or by computer. A recording of the composition need not accompany the application, but it can be helpful for the adjudicator, who critiques the compositions prior to the festival. Compositions are judged on notation, form, timbre, and style.

The students will then come together to perform their compositions at the festival, where each young composer will have the opportunity to answer the audience’s questions about his/her piece. All participants receive a merit certificate for participating.

The OMTA Portland Composition Celebration is not competitive, but the adjudicator may recommend that the students with the most outstanding compositions advance to the OMTA State Composition Celebration, which is competitive.

Composer Neil Patton will adjudicate the 2010 Portland District Composition Celebration. Besides being a composer, Patton teaches private piano. He is a member of the Music Teachers National Association and Oregon Music Teachers Association. An avid songwriter, arranger, and performer in many styles of music, Neil can be found accompanying classical soloists, musical theater productions, local rock and country bands, and elementary school programs -- sometimes all in the same week. Neil also works part-time at Emerald Bible Fellowship as Pastor of Worship Arts. He has released two CD's of original music: Horizon (1998) and Impromptu (2007). For more info regarding Neil's original music and performing, visit www.neilpatton.net.