JAVS Fall 2024

Does an AVS member have to reside in the USA to be eligible? No; international members are welcome to participate as long as they are current AVS members.

Can I submit a piece for viola and one other instrument that is not piano? Yes. This call is for solo viola or viola with one collaborative instrument of any type. Electronics are allowed as the collaborative instrument.

I don’t know any recording engineers. Can you help direct me to someone who can serve in this role? Yes; please contact recording-label@americanviolasociety.org for help.

Why can’t I submit just an audio recording? To ensure a fair and equitable selection process, it’s important to ensure that all recordings are unedited live takes.

I’m not sure if my AVS membership is still active. How can I tell? Visit the AVS website and log in to the AVS members-only section to determine whether your membership is still active. Alternatively, contact info@americanviolasociety.org to check the status of your membership. How many pieces will be selected? We anticipate filling one album of approximately 50-60 minutes of music, which could include a number of shorter selections or fewer long works. The committee will be tasked with selecting a program that makes for a compelling recording with the highest quality of performance. The AVS is considering a digital release at the time of publication of these guidelines; this will allow us to select up to 80 minutes of music. Will this project be repeated with different repertoire/instrumentation guidelines in the future? Yes; the AVS intends to continue to plan for at least one recording per year going forward. It is possible that the AVS will consider entire albums by one artist in the future as well. We intend to alternate a “themed” call with an open call each year. May I submit a piece I have already professionally recorded and released? No. The purposes of this project are to create opportunities for performers who may not have other opportunities to release a recording and to expand the repertoire of recorded viola works. If selected, I hope to release my recording as part of a full-length project on another label. Is that allowed? Yes. Since our goal is professional development of our members, you may use a recording you create for the AVS Presents series in another venue, if it is helpful for your career or your development as an artist. (Please note that if you plan to use your submission in the future as part of a bigger project, you will need to let a new label know that it has been previously recorded, and use the same ISRC number that was given to your piece on your AVS release. You can contact [recording label@americanviolasociety.org] for this information.) The video I submitted has 0 views on YouTube; how is it possible that my recording was included in the judging process? In order to keep the judging anonymous, audio is ripped from the video submissions. We do this instead of using an audio only recording in order to make it as fair as possible - some people have access to audio editing software and others do not. We want to ensure that we have one live take for our judges to evaluate, so we require a video submission. Our recording project coordinator then downloads the file’s audio and creates a file with a number attached to the submission for our judges to listen to “blind.” When the download occurs, it does not register a “view” on youtube, and thus it might look on your end that no one watched it. We have a panel listen to all of the blind audio files. Can I submit more than one work? No, please submit only one work. Multiple movements of the same work are allowed.

I have additional questions that aren’t addressed here. Please reach out to [recording-label@americanviolasociety.org].

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 40, No. 2, Fall 2024