Mission Statement

Chinese chamber music is a musical genre that comes in a diversity of forms. In recent years, many domestic and foreign musicians have engaged in Chinese chamber music and have made explorations and contributions to it through the creation of new works and arrangement of existing repertoire. Many great works have emerged which have promoted the development of Chinese chamber music.

In order to solicit new works from both domestic and foreign composers, Dunhuang Award committee has invited professional organizations and launched an international competition and performance of new works for Chinese chamber music in 2021. 

The competition will base on the principles of fairness, impartiality and openness to promote outstanding Chinese chamber music works, which have cultural and artistic aesthetic values, innovative spirit of the times, and are suitable for promotion by grassroots arts organizations.

Submission Guidelines

1. Submitted works should be playable by both professional chamber ensembles and non-professional players.
2. Works should be artistic, accessible and appealing to general audiences.
3. Works should be within eight minutes in length.
4. Works should be limited to chamber music genres and use various instrumental combinations or fusions.
5. Welcome composers of all ages and nationalities to submit their original works (works should be submitted by the composer himself/herself, unless special circumstances prevent it. If so, please include an explanation for noncompliance).
6. All submissions are required to be ensemble work created after January 1, 2016. The submitted work must not have won a prize in any kind of competition.
7. Works adapted from materials such as songs, film or television scores, foreign music, or other musical genres must not violate the relevant provisions of the “Copyright Law”.
8. Composers of submitted works must own the copyright of their work and ensure that the composition does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights and other related rights and interests of any third party. The person who submits the work shall be responsible for any infringement and any personal or collective economic or material loss resulting thereon, and will not hold the solicitation activity and the solicitation unit responsible for any loss.

Instrumentation Options

Please include the following information on the submission form:

  1. Number of musicians: 2~20 
  2. Ensemble type and instrumentation: the musical instruments should mainly be that of the Chinese, but can include Western musical instruments, such as cello, double bass, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, etc. Other instruments may be added according to the needs of the piece if available.
  3. Ensemble of single style of instrument (e.g. guzheng ensemble, pipa ensemble, dizi ensemble, erhu ensemble, and percussion ensemble)
  4. Combination of musical instruments of the same category (e.g. pluck string ensemble, string ensemble, wind ensemble or percussion ensemble).
  5. Ensemble of mixed instrument (e.g. chamber ensemble containing a mix of instruments).

Submission methods and requirements

  1. Please scan the QR code to fill out the submission form online:

The link to the application portal: https://jinshuju.net/f/PDVSU1

  1. If you find it difficult to navigate through the online application. You can also choose to submit your application through email. Please send the work’s audio sample, score (PDF format file-printed version or the scanned version of handwritten score), program notes or introduction to the music, recent photo, and copy of photo ID（Used to confirm identity and it can be your driver’s License or passport photo） to the organizing committee mailbox: 1014926075@qq.com.

If you choose to submit through email, please note to include the following items:

    1. Title of Email: Dunhuang Award Application – (insert your full name)
    2. Your resume/biography (about 500 words, can be in .word or .pdf)
    3. A photocopy of your Photo ID 
    4. In the body of the email, include your phone number and a description of your submitted works. 
    5. Finally attached your compositions (you can submit up to three works)
  1. Each composer may submit up to three works. The submission process is anonymous. The score must not include the composer’s name or any marks unrelated to the music.
  2. Works that do not meet the above requirements will be disqualified. Members of the jury may not submit any works.

Please email info@canadianchineseorchestra.com if you have any questions or need help with submitting your work. 

Selection method, performance dates, and submission deadline

The jury is composed of prominent composers, conductors and instrumentalists nationally and internationally. A public network voting link will be set.
1.Submission period: April 1st to June 1st, 2021.
2.Initial review time: June 10th to June 20th, 2021. The initial review will be conducted by the evaluation committee. Works that are accepted for the final review will be publicized.
3.Final review time: June 25th to August 1st, 2021. A public online voting and expert panel review will be conducted.
4. In August 2021, the list of winners of the second “Dunhuang Cup” Chinese National Chamber Ensemble Competition will be announced and the award concert will be held. Outstanding representative works will be published in collections and promoted in different forms within three years.

Award Categories and Related Benefits

Awards:
1. 1 “Jury Grand Award” (can be vacant)
2. 2~3 Gold Award (per group)
3. 3~6 Silver Award (per group)
4. 5~9 Bronze Award (per group)
5. Outstanding Works Awards (several)
6. Most Popular Award (online voting)
7. All of the above awards will receive certificates and trophies (Selected works will be published)
8.Prize for “Jury Grand Award ”: Ten Thousand Yuan (RMB)
9. Prize for the winners of Gold Award: Three Thousand Yuan (RMB)

Related benefits:

1. The winners own the copyright of their works.
2. The sponsor has the right to use winning works and publish the works for three years.
*The Organizing Committee reserves the right of final interpretation of this regulation. For matters not mentioned above, a supplementary notice will be given.

Organization

Honorary Support
China Musical Instrument Association

Co-producers
No.1 National Musical Instruments Factory.
Beijing Huaxia XuanYin Art Communication Center
Organizing Committee of “Dunhuang Cup” China National Instrumental Elite Art Show

Co-sponsors
Shanghai Music Publishing House
Singapore Chinese Music Federation
Singapore Chinese Orchestra
International Friendship Through the Performing Arts U.S.A
NPO Japan Erhu Promotion Association
Canadian YC Chinese orchestra association
Persatuan Seni Dan BudayaHe Yue
Australian Association of Chinese Traditional Music Incorporated
Orchestre Chinois de Paris
International Association of Chinese Music and Arts (Hong Kong)
Canadian Chinese Orchestra