Open Call for Scores: Tips!

Happy BIBA Sunday everyone! This post, while available for everyone to read, is pointed to composers of African heritage or people who know composers of African heritage. COOS wants to know who you are and what music you are making! We also want to potentially perform your work if it can fit into any one of our usual performance events ("Edu-tainment" recital, collaboration, house concert, college residency, interactive production, etc ... ). Would you like to submit to Castle of our Skins's Open Call for Scores? Read below for some tips!

(photo by Colin Conces)

Tip one: read the call HERE! While the call is pretty detailed, there are some comments worth adding here in this blog. COOS advocates for Black composers and composers of African heritage. Therefore, if you have a burning desire to send us something that perhaps seems outside the scope of what COOS does, but your gut is telling you to send it, then please send it. COOS never knows who will want to collaborate with us, therefore you and we cannot know if a score, for example, to an opera with full orchestra and 15 singers can fit into our programming. However, there may come a chance for such a work to be considered. In other words, it is better to take the shot because if you don't, you will always miss. 

Tip two: if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Your questions can be about anything, including alternatives to sending us a score if the digital option is not ideal. COOS has accepted post submissions in the past, and we will gladly do so for this open call. Do not hesitate to reach out for any reason. Please expect a reply within 10 days. 

Tip three:  do you have works that may fit into a certain theme or may pair well with other works which we have programmed? COOS has a its full season posted as well as a past repertoire list. If you feel comfortable to make suggestions for a good context for your piece, then please do so! An example: Hello, my name is Black composer X and I am submitting awesome string quartet y to your open call for scores. I noticed that you are producing a project featuring African Composers. I am from Ghana, and I would love for you to consider including this work for that project. This type of additional effort will go a long way. 

Tip four: as THERE IS NO DEADLINE for this open call for scores, it may be easy to forget to submit a work because you are so busy submitting to other opportunities or working on other projects. Therefore, if you are considering submitting to COOS, I highly suggest you look at your calendar now, pick a free day to send something to COOS, and make that day your self-inflicted deadline. else you may always "forget" to apply or you might simply forget about the opportunity! (On a personal note, I do this for all the open-date calls to which I apply, and this method truly works for me.)

Last but not least, GOOD LUCK! SPREAD THE NEWS! SEND US A SUBMISSION! WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING TO KNOW ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WORK!