Composer's Drawing Board Vol. 2

Open Call Introduction

Tarenna Collective is delighted to announce ‘Composer’s Drawing Board Vol. 2’, an open call for a new commissioned work to be premiered on 13 October 2026 at Esplanade Recital Studio. The selected composer will receive SGD$2000 to write a new work of 10 to 15 minutes duration for 2 to 5 instruments from the following instrument list:

2 violins
1 viola
1 cello
1 flute/piccolo/alto flute

For this iteration of the project, applicants are invited to respond to the theme of ‘Displacement’ for their proposed new work (see description below). In addition to being commissioned to write a new work, the selected composer will collaborate with the musicians (see Annex 2) to program the rest of the concert repertoire (see 'Repertoire Suggestions'). The concert programme should draw connections between the commissioned work and that of the numerous musical cultures that inform it, forming a snapshot of the commissioned composer’s sound world. A maximum of two pieces by the selected composer is thus allowed for the proposed concert program, as a traditional composer portrait concert is not desired in this open call. The selected composer must be willing to physically present the concert in collaboration with the musicians, and to be interviewed as part of publicity efforts as decided by Tarenna Collective. 

Open Call Theme

The theme for this iteration is ‘Displacement’. Most literally, displacement describes the physical phenomenon of an object changing its position. In music, displacement is perhaps literally most easily described in rhythm, as one rhythmic pattern is temporally offset against another. Beyond this, displacement can be viewed as an emotional experience and a part of social history, particularly in the context of diasporic experiences and colonial histories. The largely oppositional nature of human-nature relations in the Anthropocene is also manifested in the displacement of flora and fauna enacted by humans. The above-mentioned ideas are merely examples, and applicants should feel free to interpret the theme as it best speaks to their artistic interests.

Submission Requirements

Applicants for this open call are required to submit the following items in the following formats:

1. Notated sketches (lasting about a minute or so, in pdf) 

2. A written proposal with a maximum length of 500 words for the commissioned work (.pdf)

3. A sample programme of music for the concert (in pdf) that can be played by any combination of the instruments listed above, with a short explanation for the repertoire choices in the form of a video with a maximum duration of 7 minutes (.mp4)

4. A portfolio of full scores of two past works for contrasting combinations of instruments, with programme notes, of which at least one should include some combination of the instruments listed for this commissioning call, if possible (.pdf)

5. Recordings of the two works submitted as part of the portfolio in mp3 (MIDI and live recordings are both ok, although live recordings are preferred)

6. A 200-word biography of yourself (.pdf)

To maintain participants’ anonymity, we would like all participants to pick a random 3-digit number from 000 to 999 and name each file in the following convention (where XYZ represents the 3-digit number): 

1. XYZ_CommissionedWorkSketch.pdf

2. XYZ_CommissionedWorkProposal.pdf 

3. XYZ_SampleConcertProgramme.pdf 

4. XYZ_ConcertProgrammeExplanation.mp4

5. XYZ_(Name of Piece 1).pdf

6. XYZ_(Name of Piece 2).pdf

7. XYZ_(Name of Piece 1).mp3

8. XYZ_(Name of Piece 2).mp3

9. XYZ_Bio.pdf

All of the files listed above should be submitted in one email to opencall.tarennacollective@gmail.com. Use of a file-sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer is encouraged, but applicants should ensure that all of the files are accessible through one email. Do NOT indicate your name in any of the files, except your biography. For details on how the open call will be judged, please see the section ‘Judging Process’.

By submitting an application for this open call, composers consent to the musicians retaining their materials for future reference. 

Eligibility

This open commissioning call is open to all Singaporean/Singapore-based composers above the age of 14 years as of 1 January 2026, although emerging composers are preferred and strongly encouraged to apply. ‘Emerging’ can be variously defined, and could include not having been commissioned before, not having been performed publicly before etc. Past winners of the Composer’s Drawing Board series are ineligible to apply.

Past Winners

2024 – Ding Jian Han

Judging Process

Submitted applications will be assessed twice. The first round will be a blind judging based on the applicants’ sketches and composition portfolios, resulting in a shortlist of applicants. In the second round, the musicians [See Annex 2] will reassess the applicants based on their proposed concert programmes, and take into consideration the experience of the composers (with reference to their biographies), before a final selection is made. There are no limits to compositional style; key criteria during the judging process include coherence of the proposed program and original, conceptually-strong compositional ideas that explore their topics of interest while also putting contemporary classical music in a new, accessible light. Applicants are highly encouraged to consider the feasibility of their proposed concert program by referring to the repertoire list below (‘Repertoire Suggestions’). All applicants with complete applications will receive feedback on their applications regardless of outcome, as we hope to support all applicants in their compositional journeys in whatever small ways we can.

Timeline

25 October 2025 — Open Call begins

1 January 2026 — Open Call closes

By 31 January 2026 — Selected composer announced

16 February 2026 — First draft due/ Concert programme to be finalised

9 March 2026 — Workshop of first draft

1 July 2026 — Final score due

13 October 2026 — Concert  

Repertoire Suggestions

The pieces listed here have been selected by the musicians of the ensemble as potential works to be performed on 13 October 2026. Applicants are highly encouraged to have a listen to the works on this list and to incorporate some of these works listed here into their proposed concert programmes if possible. Applicants are more than welcome to propose works other than those on this list which use instruments listed in the project instrumentation list (see 'Open Call Introduction').

• Giuseppe Maria Cambini, Flute Quartets

• Anthony Cheung, The Real Book of Fake Tunes for flute and string quartet

• Alberto Ginastera, Impresiones de la puna for flute and string quartet

• Toshio Hosokawa, Fragmente II for alto flute and string quartet

• Pierre Jalbert, Air in Motion for flute and string quartet

• Mauricio Kagel, Pan for piccolo and string quartet 

• Joseph Kosma arr. Toru Takemitsu, Autumn Leaves for string quartet 

• Friedrich Kuhlau, Flute Quintets

• Einojuhani Rautavaara, The Last Runo for flute and string quartet

• Joan Tower, Rising for flute and string quartet

• Paul Wiancko, Cities of Air for flute and string quartet

• Zhou Tian, Viaje for flute and string quartet

Submission Deadline

The deadline for submission of scores is 1 January 2026, 11:59:59 PM SGT via email / file-sharing links to opencall.tarennacollective@gmail.com. If you encounter any technical difficulties during submission, or have any questions about the open call, please do not hesitate to email opencall.tarennacollective@gmail.com for help.

Musicians' Biographies