Schola Cantorum offers an opportunity for young local poets to hear their words
put to music by a renowned composer and sung by one of the Bay Area’s premier choirs
under the direction of Schola’s artistic director, Buddy
James. The contest is a contemporary venture of artistic collaboration and
community, open to high school students who live or attend school in Santa Clara
County.
2022–2023 Theme: “The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars …”
Prizes are: $500 First Place; $300 Second Place; $200 Third Place. While only
the First Place poem will be set to music and performed at a live concert, all
prize winners will be featured in Schola Cantorum’s publicity materials and on
the group’s website.
The contest will be judged by a panel including a local Poet Laureate,
Schola Cantorum Directors, and the composer. The
submission deadline is November 18, 2022. The 10 finalists will be announced
in January, 2023. The three winning poems will be announced at Schola’s
spring concert on Saturday, May 20.
The title of this Schola concert is “The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars … .”
We recommend all entrants read the rules carefully before entering. Entry in the
competition will be deemed to be acceptance of these conditions.
Important Dates
Deadline for entries: November 18, 2022, at 11pm Pacific time.
Finalists notified: January, 2023.
Winners announced: At Schola Cantorum’s Early Spring concert “The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars …”,
on May 20, 2023.
Entry Conditions and Guidelines
The contest is free and open to all students attending 9th, 10th, 11th, or
12th grades in the fall of 2022, who live or attend school in Santa Clara
County, California.
There is a maximum of 2 poems per entrant. All poems must be in English, be
the original work of the author and not have been previously published or won
another competition at the time of entry. For the purpose of this contest,
the following definition of “published” will apply: intentionally distributed
to the public in any format “accepted for publication or broadcast in any
format including self-publishing for monetary gain.” Poems may have been part
of a school assignment and reviewed by a High School teacher.
No entrant may win more than one prize.
All poems must have a title and be 20 lines or less (title and spaces between
stanzas do not count). Any rhyme scheme except free verse is allowed. The
evaluation of the poems will be partially based upon their ability to be
adapted into a choral composition.
All entries must be submitted online, through
this form. No late entries will be
accepted. Entries received after the deadline will be disqualified. No postal
entries are accepted—sorry. We do hope you can find someone to help you with
an online entry, or try your school or local library.
Each entry must be the entrant’s/author’s original work. Should an entry be
found to contain any plagiarized content it will be automatically
disqualified from the competition, along with any additional work by that
poet.
The author agrees to grant Schola Cantorum an irrevocable, royalty-free,
non-exclusive license of unlimited duration to publish, perform, display,
broadcast, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, and create derivative
works, in part or in whole, award-winning or commended entries and photographs
on the Schola Cantorum website, in an anthology and/or in media publications or
broadcasts.
Schola Cantorum also reserves the right to give entrants’ contact details to
the media, if among the winners.
Judging and Notifications
The 10 finalists for the contest will be judged anonymously by a committee
that includes Schola’s Directors and a local Poet Laureate.
Finalists will be notified in January, 2023. The judges’ decision is
final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The top three winners will be announced at Schola’s May concert. The
first prize winning poem (or an excerpt of the poem) will be used in a choral
performance at that concert. Prizes will be presented at this event. Prizes
will be mailed if the winner cannot attend in person.
Submissions that do not fulfill the requirements will not be judged.
Prior Contest Winners
2016: “Love Poem in Blue” by Sonnet Phelps, set to music by Dawn Reyen.
2017: “Starry Night” by Albert Zhao, set to music by Marjorie Halloran.
2020: “Gilded Land” by Sophia Smith, set to music by Eric Tuan.