IU SCHOOL OF MUSIC SPONSORS LEONARD BERNSTEIN YOUNG COMPOSERS COMPETITION

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In commemoration of the late Leonard Bernstein's 80th birthday, the Indiana University School of Music is sponsoring a competition for new orchestral works by composers 25 years of age or younger. The winner will receive a $5,000 award and a performance of the work by an IU School of Music orchestra during the 1998-99 concert season -- a year that will include worldwide celebratory performances of Bernstein's music.

The competition was conceived by Eugene O'Brien, chair of the composition department at the IU School of Music, after conversations with representatives of Bernstein's estate. O'Brien anticipates hundreds of entries.

"I wanted to do something that would encompass Bernstein's career and dedication to the musical education of young people, and his work as a conductor and a composer," said O'Brien. "A competition for young composers is a way to tie together his achievements and a way to get young people involved."

Alexander Bernstein, the composer's son, said, "We are pleased that the IU School of Music has decided to commemorate my father's commitment to nurturing young talent in this way."

The competition is a continuation of the strong friendship between the Bernstein estate and the IU School of Music, which was established during the late composer's lifetime. Begun in the early 1970s with a festival performance of Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, the interaction between Bernstein and the school grew into a productive relationship, including a six-week residency in 1982 when the composer became the first Fellow of the IU Institute for Advanced Studies. During his visit, he worked on his last opera, A Quiet Place, and spent time with singers and other music students.

For his 70th birthday celebration at Tanglewood, Bernstein specifically asked IU to perform his Mass. He called the production ""one of the finest performances I've ever seen . . . and I don't just mean of Mass, but of anything."

In 1992 the Bernstein estate asked the IU School of Music to produce a revival of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, a work written by Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner. The IU production eventually resulted in multiple performances at the Kennedy Center. IU's work on this forgotten musical helped to lay the groundwork for its new reworking, A White House Cantata, which premiered in 1997.

The orchestral works competition is open to all citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Works must be no less than 10 minutes in length. No maximum duration is set.

All entries will be reviewed by an initial screening committee comprised of IU School of Music composition faculty members. The final judges will be distinguished musicians not associated with IU.

(Erik Novak, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0089 or 812-855-3911, enovak@indiana.edu)

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