Chamber Concerts Sign-Up

Chamber concert performances are optional; they are not required.

Chamber concert Dates

June 12th
June 16th
June 19th

Participants will be notified when each chamber concert is full or closed to submissions.
The latest submission date for the first concert is June 6, and the latest submission date for the second and third concerts is June 9, but any concert may close earlier than these dates.

Guidelines

Anyone who is attending MMF may apply to perform in chamber concerts at the Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall. This is voluntary, not required.

  • Instrumentalists and vocalists can perform in up to two pieces per chamber program.

  • Composers may submit up to one piece within our guidelines, it is not guaranteed to be chosen.

  • Works requiring a conductor or submitted with a conductor will not be selected (or very rarely).

  • Pieces for more than 5 performers must be submitted and approved before June 1.

This will be strictly enforced. Please keep track of this so you are not overextending yourself.

Note on Full Studio Pieces: studio pieces (for example, a flute quartet submitted by the flute studio or a percussion ensemble piece submitted by the percussion studio) are excluded from this count. There will be a maximum of three studio pieces. Studios are not required to submit studio pieces.

Pieces

Duration: 3-8 minutes. Longer or shorter works may be submitted, but they require approval before being programmed and are less likely to happen. Single movements of works are encouraged.

Instrumentation: Chamber works, 3 to 8 performers possible. We won’t accept solos. Exceptional duos may occasionally be accepted. Solos and duos are permitted for pianists, and two pianos are available if needed for chamber concerts. Percussion may be used, but pieces with large set-ups are not likely to be programmed. Note that these are chamber concerts, not chamber orchestra concerts; large works will rarely be approved.

Amplification & Electronics: Participants and faculty are responsible for their amplification and electronics if required for their piece. We have limited use of amps and microphones and will help as much as we can, but our capabilities are somewhat limited. We do not have surround sound capability. IMPORTANT: Please do not email or approach Skidmore College staff regarding stage needs, amplification, and electronics; any requests must go directly to us.

Music selection: We encourage participants to submit contemporary music by living composers and avoid standards (e.g., Maslanka Wind Quintets). Works over 100 years older than the current festival date (1925 or older) are less likely to be approved. Pieces by composers not in attendance at the festival under 30 years old will not be programmed.

Submissions

You cannot add a performer’s name to your submission form without the performer's permission. Submitted works must have the performers in place who have agreed to perform the work you submit.

Submit a single request. Each participant may only submit this form once. If you want to play on multiple pieces, whoever you are playing with may submit another form. Requests for the same work should not be submitted multiple times by different performers. For example, if a performer knows he or she is already being listed by someone else in their request, that performer should not also request it.

Concerts will be designated to give specific instrumentation priority for that concert. This is to distribute pieces evenly across the three concerts.

  • Chamber Concert I: Priority given to string ensembles

  • Chamber Concert II: Priority given to wind and brass groups

  • Chamber Concert III: Priority given to participants who have not performed on the first two concerts, mixed ensembles

  • PIANISTS: Each concert will have time reserved for solo or small chamber piano works.

  • PERCUSSION: There will be time reserved for 1-2 percussion ensembles pieces on each concert.

Please note: a request to move your group to another date is only a request, not a guarantee.

This is also a faculty chamber concert; faculty should sign up using this form.

Priority will be given in the following order:

  1. Participants, no faculty

  2. Participants and faculty together

  3. Faculty, no participants

The following factors will figure into whether a work is chosen or not:

  1. If the work is by a living composer or written after 1925

  2. Contemporary works by living composers receive top priority. Works composed before the 20th century or by deceased composers may be submitted but are less likely to be chosen.

  3. Whether the work can be effectively performed and the logistics of the piece(s).

Review Process

  1. Challenging works that require extra rehearsal time should be submitted before the festival starts and approved by faculty before arriving at the festival.

  2. All faculty and participants will be emailed when the submissions for each concert have closed. Similarly, faculty and participants will be notified of their piece(s) acceptance via email with the concert order for each concert no later than 48 hours before the concert.

  3. We reserve the right to unlist chamber concert videos posted on YouTube. These are still accessible with a link, and when cross-posted on a site, they will not be publicly searchable on YouTube.

Preparation


Performing in chamber works should not impede a performer’s ability to successfully perform works that are part of the official MMF schedule.

Performers are required to provide sheet music for these performances.

Rehearsals: Performers are responsible for scheduling their rehearsals. Official rehearsals and lessons with faculty take priority over any chamber rehearsals. Works should be able to be performed at a high level with limited rehearsal time, ca. 1-3 rehearsals, and a dress.