Here we go: after a highly successful first edition in 2022, Coups de Vents is organizing its second International Orchestration Competition. An ambitious competition with a well-oiled mechanism, starting on April 1st with a call for entries from composers, and ending in 2025 with a series of concerts given by the best amateur orchestras in several cities of the Region.

The IOC is first and foremost a significant challenge launched to composers from around the world: to adapt famous works originally written for solo piano for wind orchestras.

The goal: to open up and enrich the repertoire of wind ensembles, so that these formations, jewels of our regional cultural heritage, continue to grow and attract talent. This approach is very much in line with the International Composition Competition organized by Coups de Vents since 2004, which aimed to support and reward the creation of new contemporary works for wind orchestras.

2022: A memorable first edition

In 2022, the first edition of the competition had already made its mark: 178 composers from 45 countries had submitted their applications from the pre-selection phase onwards. After more than 6 months of competition, the works of the 9 finalists were performed publicly by amateur orchestras in the region, culminating in a splendid concert at the Louvre-Lens.

2024-2025: A marathon competition, and an entire region mobilized

We don’t change a winning formula: for this second edition of the competition, composers are invited to submit their applications until June 1st, 2024. To participate in the pre-selection phase, they must orchestrate an imposed work, identical for all. The candidates selected for the semi-final will then work on a second piece that they must choose from a list provided.

At the end of these two stages, our jury will select the finalists based on the quality of the two orchestrations produced. The works will then be prepared by orchestras in the region and performed in concert in front of the public in May 2025. It is after these concerts that the winners of the competition will be announced.

Making room for women!

It’s also good to know that for this new edition of the competition, and with the ambition to contribute, modestly, to the feminization of a musical environment still predominantly male, the Coups de Vents team has made a particular effort to “make room for women”. Thus, works by three illustrious composers Clara Wieck Schumann, Agathe Grondhal, and Nadia Boulanger, feature prominently in the selection of works to be orchestrated for the semi-final of the competition.
To learn more about the IOC, review the proposed works, the competition rules, and the detailed schedule, visit here: https://coupsdevents.com/concours-international-dorchestration/