Please send your pdf submission to James Gardner, Music Director, by September 30, 2024. There is a $25 entrance fee, which is waived for all Virginia students. Best of luck! 

• An original choral composition
• Submissions must be received by September 30, 2024.
• A winner will be announced by October 7, 2024.
• Submissions must be in standard musical notation, and sent as a PDF file.
• The winner will receive a prize of $300, and their work will be performed at the annual Christmas Concert at St. Stephen in Chesapeake, on December 10, 2024.
• The winner will receive a certificate of recognition award.
• All contestants, including the winner, shall retain copyright of their work.
• Difficulty should not exceed intermediate level. (Examples: “Ave Verum Corpus” by Mozart or “Sanctus” from Faure’s Requiem)
• Should be voiced for SATB or SAB
• Accompaniment may include Organ or Piano
• Length of composition should be 3-6 minutes
• Text should be based on one of the three passages above. It may be a direct setting of all or a portion of any of the texts, or the composer may create original lyrics based on or inspired by any of the passages. If more than one composer / lyricist collaborate on the piece, the prize money will be evenly split.
• If a direct text setting is used, preferred Bible translations are Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition or The New Jerusalem Bible.
• There is an entrance fee of $25. However, the fee is waived for current students of any public or private school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Including high school, college, and homeschooled students.)
• If no suitable submissions are received, the contest reserves the right to award no contestant.