The five finalists for the inaugural BrookWright International Brass Ensemble Composer Competition 2021 (IBECC) have been announced.

Final five

An impressive 92 entries were received from around the world, with judges James Curnow, Dr. Liz Lane and Paul Hindmarsh having a difficult decision to make in finally selecting a line-up of Alexander Harris (UK); Gregory Fritze (USA); Isaac Smith (USA) Joseph Santo (USA) and Karl Whelan (UK).

The banding public can now vote for their favourite piece by visiting:
www.brookwrightmusic.com/composercontest

After listening to all five entries, click 'like' on the piece you wish to vote for. Voting will close at noon USA Central Standard Time (CST) on Friday 20th August 2021.

The piece with the highest number of 'likes' by this time will be awarded the 'Public Commendation Prize' and a cash prize of $150.

Prizes

The overall winner, decided by our judges, will also be announced after this and will receive $500 cash, a download license to the music playback programme NotePerformer, publication of their work through BrookWright Music, whilst also receiving any associated royalties, and a virtual video and audio recording by an All-star Ensemble comprising some of BrookWright's 'Artists in Association'.

The standard has been exceptionally high and the judges had an incredibly difficult taskAndrew Wainwright

Thrilled

Speaking about the competition, BrookWright's owner Andrew Wainwright told 4BR: "We've been thrilled with the response to the contest and would like to thank everyone who entered and especially our finalists. The standard has been exceptionally high and the judges had an incredibly difficult task."

He added: "We now look forward to receiving everyone's vote for the Public Commendation Prize and add our thanks to thank our competition sponsors — Christopher Bond Music, David Daws Financial Services Ltd., Besson, John Lawes, NotePerformer, room4groups, Stratos and World of Brass."