UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and The Finnish Big Band Association organise a reformed composition contest, Helsinki International Big Band Composing Contest. It will replace the Esko Linnavalli Big Band Composition Competition held biennially since 2005, slightly updating the rules of its predecessor.
– The competition has become more and more popular each time. Our goal is to bring out new talents from both the domestic and especially international field. The competition is open to all composers under the age of 35, from all over the world, emphasizes Antti Rissanen, President of The Finnish Big Band Association.
The contest is open for composers born on 5 Jun 1986 or after, allowing each contestant enter one previously unrecorded and unreleased piece. Contestants must submit their entries by 22 Mar 2021. Composers participate in the competition anonymously, while finalists will be announced after pre-qualification round on 7 May 2021. A maximum of 10 compositions will be performed live by UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra led by conductor Antti Rissanen in the final concert on 4 Jun 2021 in the Savoy Theatre. The jury of the competition includes e.g. UMO’s Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Ed Partyka.
More detailed instructions and competition rules in Finnish and English can be found at UMO's website.
UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra is a professional Finnish big band that plays live in roughly one hundred concerts and other events annually. Since its formation in 1975, the orchestra has released more than 60 albums and collaborated with both Finnish household names and international superstars of jazz. UMO’s repertory reaches from jazz and soul to classical music and beyond, bringing together old and new in an innovative way.
The Finnish Big Band Association (SBBY) currently operates as the umbrella organisation of more than forty Finnish big bands. The association provides membership services and supports the training and concert activities of member orchestras and maintains a nationwide Junior All Star Big Band. The members of SBBY are amateur, professional, youth and student orchestras.