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Terra Nova Program Guidelines

2026 Guidelines

Gower Community Band Terra Nova Program

Awards for New Concert Band Compositions

(April 13, 2026 Submission Deadline)

In 2007, The Gower Community Band (GCB) established a program in conjunction with Memorial University’s School of Music for the encouragement, development, and performance of new Concert Band Compositions and Arrangements in Newfoundland and Labrador. The initiative includes the awarding of annual Composition Prizes, and provides the opportunity for performance to audiences in the Province and beyond. The GCB will encourage other bands to include these new works in their repertoire, with potential compensation to composers and opportunities for further exposure. In this respect, it is important that compositional creativity be expressed within the performance levels and instrumentation of average community or high school bands (i.e. grades 3-4).

Eligibility:

Any student enrolled at the School of Music for 2025-2026, including graduating students, may submit work.

Works:

Minimum five (5) minutes duration, written for standard high school or community band, e.g. grades 3-4. Works must have been written in the last two years, and must not have had a public performance. The Gower Community Band retains the right of first performance for award-winning entries, but thereafter performance by other groups, recording, and publication is encouraged. Composers retain proprietary ownership of their works.

Prizes:

A total of $2,000 annually, available as follows: $1,500 for the category of Original Works (see “Award-Winning Works” list below), and $500 for the category of Arrangements (see below), may be awarded in commensurate amounts at the discretion of the judges. Works chosen are performed in special GCB Gala Concerts known as “The GCB Terra Nova Concerts”. This designation carries the connotation of “new lands” for exploration of musical style, form, and creative talent within the limits of performance level and instrumentation as specified .

Instrumentation:

Flutes (div. in 2 or 3 parts; piccolo* optional)

Clarinets (div. in 2 or 3 parts); bass clarinet*

Oboes* (1 or 2 parts)

Saxophones: Alto (div. in 2 parts), Tenor, Baritone* (Soprano* optional)

Bassoons* (1 or 2 parts), (Contrabassoon* optional)

Trumpets/Cornets (div. in 2 or 3 parts)

French Horns in F (div. in 2, 3, or 4 parts)*

Trombones (div. in 2 or 3 parts)

Euphoniums/Baritones (Bass Clef; transposed part for Treble Clef must also be provided)

Tubas (transposed part for Electric Bass must also be provided)

Percussion in at least 4 parts recommended, including mallet instruments)

* Solos written for instruments marked (*) should be cross-cued in other instruments.

By entering the competition, composers agree to abide by the following submission criteria and guidelines:

Submission Criteria:

Maintaining composer anonymity for the adjudication process is crucial to this program, so the following submission steps must be followed carefully.

Scores are to be submitted to the main office at the School of Music on or before April 13, 2026, in an envelope without the composer’s name, marked “GCB Terra Nova Program”. Three bound copies of the score are to be included, bearing no composer’s name and no other markings that show the composer’s identity (work titles are required). Computer-generated recordings (on a USB drive) are strongly encouraged, but are not required. Program Notes are required, and Notes to the Conductor are encouraged. A sealed envelope containing the title of the work, the composer’s name, and the composer’s contact information (email and phone) is to be included in the submission envelope.

If on-campus access is restricted near the submission deadline (due to a pandemic, for example), alternate submission methods using email will be forwarded to MUN School of Music by the director of the Gower Community Band.

It is expected that the Director of the Gower Community Band will be in contact with the winning composers throughout the rehearsal of their works as a vital element of the learning process for the composers and the rehearsal process for the Band. Past award winners have found this direct interface with the Director and GCB musicians to be very helpful.

Guidelines:

1. Composers are advised to check practical instrument ranges (as opposed to absolute instrumental ranges) very carefully in order to remain in the “standard high school or community band” specification. Notes in the extreme high or low range of any instrument should be avoided. Likewise, composers should consider the typical high school or community band levels (grades 3-4) carefully when deciding on the complexity of time signatures, key signatures, and rhythmic patterns. Publishers’ grading and festival syllabi would be helpful aids. See the “American Band College Music Grading Chart” graphic as one example.

2. In determining winning submissions, adjudicators will focus primarily on artistic integrity and creativity of the works, but composers should be aware that errors in instrumentation, range, transposition, rhythmic patterns, scoring, or significantly exceeding the grades 3-4 standard will be considered. Identification of the composer, whether intentional or not, will result in an automatic disqualification. To help maintain composer anonymity, all student questions should be directed to the composition professors who will contact the GCB Director on their behalf.

3. Composers are expected to ensure that adequate phrasing, dynamics, and articulation marks are provided to enable the correct interpretation of their works.

4. Scores must be submitted with each part transposed appropriately.

5. Winning composers will be asked to use a computer program to submit files compatible with Finale or Dorico to the Gower Community Band. These files will be archived in the GCB computer resources for potential future GCB performance of unpublished works only, with the permission of the composers.

Timeline:

Winners will be contacted on or before April 29, 2026, and will need to provide a full, proofread set of parts and program notes to the GCB on or before May 5, 2026. The premiere performance is expected to take place in late 2026, with the exact date to be determined by the GCB. Winning composers are expected to attend a rehearsal of their works in advance of that date as invited by the GCB, and to be present for the concert and as Guests of Honour at the reception which follows.

GCB Terra Nova Program Award-Winning Works & Composers

2007: TNP Launch Gala (May 27)

Commissioned Work Premiere: Concerto for Horn and Symphonic Band David Gillingham

(Bruce Bonnell, Soloist, and GCB)

2008:

First Award: Liminal Fair by Mark Edwards

Second Award: GO by Neal Read

Third Award: Shanshu by Denis John Callaghan

2009:

First Award: Astéroïde B-612 by Jessica C. Blenis

Second Award: Chorale Prelude: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ by Michael Bramble

Third Award: Wreckhouse Winds by Kimberly Codner

2010:

First Award: Through the Haze by Aiden Hartery

Second Awards (tie): Rah Rah Rah by Jessica C. Blenis

You Can’t See It ‘Til It’s Finished by Chris McGee

2011:

First Award: The Knight and his Knemesis by Aiden Hartery

Second Award: Overture for a Katet by Bekah Simms

2012:

First Award: Unsubstantiation by Chris McGee

Second Awards (tie): Lukey’s Lullaby by Aiden Hartery

The Lost Voyager by Colin Taylor

2013:

First Award: Zephyrus by Colin Taylor

Second Award: Wind and Watercolour by Bekah Simms

2014:

First Award: December 26, 2004 (In memory of the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami) by Timothy Brennan

Second Award: Night: Walking in the Shadow of the Earth by Jenny Griffioen

2015:

First Award: The Traveller by Duane Andrews

2016:

First Awards (tie): The Handful That Survived by Benjamin Taylor

Life is a Journey by Kate Thomas

2017:

First Award: The King’s Procession by Benjamin Taylor

2018:

First Award, Original Works: Little Nightmares by Austin Meisel

Second Award, Original Works: Swashbuckling George Pearcival by Zachary Greer

Second Award, Original Works: Overcast by Liam Robbins

First Award, Arrangements: Variaciones sobre “La Llorona” by Pallas Loredo

2019:

First Award, Original Works: Along the Monchy Fields by Kurtis Rogers

Second Award, Original Works: The Newfie Bullet by Patrick d’Eon

Third Award, Original Works: A Hesitant Venture by Austin Meisel

2020:

First Award, Original Works: Fables of Faeries by Austin Meisel

Second Award, Original Works: Voyage Into The Atlantic by Andrew Luther

2023:

First Award, Original Works: Equinox: Coming of Spring by Alexander Bessant

2024: First Award, Original Works: Fairies and Gremlins by Emma Hamilton

Second Award, Original Works: Marche Triomphale by Eric Steele

Third Award, Original Works: Returning Home by Madison Braye

First Award, Arrangements: Paradise by Kaitlin White

2025:

First Award, Original Works: Stars Across The Harbour by Michael Grandy

The Terra Nova Program was suspended in 2021 due to ongoing issues with COVID-19, and there were no submissions in 2022.

Gower Community Band Terra Nova Program Awards for New Concert Band Arrangements

In 2017, the Gower Community Band’s Terra Nova Program (TNP) was expanded to include the awarding of prizes for new Instrumental Arrangements for Concert Band.

This awards opportunity, offered as a prize from the Jack Green Memorial Fund in the amount of $500 either as a single award or shared among submissions, is in addition to the existing TNP award ($1,500) for new Concert Band Compositions (Original Works), and brings the total GCB TNP awards to $2,000 annually. As with the Original Composition awards program, now in its 18th year of successful operation, the purpose is to stimulate the production of new works for community and high school bands in Newfoundland and Labrador and to recognize the importance of skills in the art of arranging.

An instrumental arrangement is a reconceptualization of an existing musical composition. It involves varying or making changes to things such as the original harmonies, meters, form, rhythms, instrumentation, articulations, and melodies. It can include new elements such as transitions, modulations, new compositional techniques, introductions, and thematic material.

Not eligible for awards are transcriptions or “re-orchestrations” of existing works where original notes are simply reassigned to the instruments of the traditional wind band.

Original source material can include traditional/folk music for instruments or voice (Canadian and Newfoundland sources are especially welcome); existing band, orchestra, or choral works; classical, contemporary, and popular music; solo, chamber and symphonic music; and works of any style/genre, and music of other cultures. (Note: If the source music is under copyright, permission to distribute, publish, or record for sale must be obtained. Composers are advised to obtain guidelines on copyright material, available from Memorial University.)

Examples of successful arrangements for concert band (levels 3-4) are suggested for student reference below. The 12 works in this list include arrangements of folk song material as well as sacred and gospel music. Publisher information and links to recordings are also provided.

While submissions of arrangements will be distinct from those of original compositions, the GCB TNP Guidelines for 2026 apply in terms of deadlines, submissions protocol, anonymity, performance levels, instrumentation, etc. Composers may enter either TNP category, or both, as long as their works are clearly defined and labelled. Please read the Guidelines carefully to avoid disappointment in the adjudication process.

EXAMPLES OF ARRANGING STYLE & GENRES IN LEVEL 3-4 BAND MUSIC

BLACKSHAW, Jodie Terpsichorean Dances (Manhattan Beach Music)

http://www.manhattanbeachmusic.com/audio/terpsichorean_dances_australia.mp3

CAMPHOUSE, Mark Fantasia on Black is the Color of my True Love’s Hair (Alfred) https://youtube.com/watch?v=fosqZQ5TKWU

CHANCE, John Barnes Variations on a Korean Folk Song (Boosey & Hawkes)

https://youtu.be/rY2GHVrjNkE?si=dmvsGj4l_7wkASG0

COPLAND, Aaron Variations on a Shaker Melody (Boosey & Hawkes)

https://youtu.be/ApkzLu80ufg

DUFF, James Petty Harbour Bait Skiff (Alfred)

https://www.alfred.com/petty-harbour-bait-skiff/p/00-11211/

GRAINGER, Percy Irish Tune from County Derry and Shepherd’s Hey

(Published as a set by Boosey & Hawkes)