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The International Society of Bassists biennial composition competition is dedicated to the memory of double bassist David Walter, a longtime ISB member, performing artist, composer and renowned educator.
DEADLINE: Postmarked or emailed by June 1, 2012
There are three divisions of the competition, open to all composers. Entries should be new, unpublished works in any style, 6-15 minutes long, that have not been given a formal world premiere (previous workshop-type performances are permitted.) WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON OR SHORTLY AFTER SEPTEMBER 1, 2012.
SOLO. A new work for solo double bass, or double bass with keyboard accompaniment. CHAMBER. A new work for an ensemble, from two to five players. In addition to bass duos, trios, quartets or quintets, entries may consist of a prominent bass part plus additional players drawn from the following: piccolo, flute, alto flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium/tuba, percussion (1 player), harp, guitar, piano, violin, viola, cello, voice and / or dancer. Normal woodwind doubles are acceptable: flute/piccolo/alto flute, oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet. MEDIA. A new work for double bass and electronic media accompaniment (tape, CD, live electronics, interactive computer, video, film visuals, etc.)
GRAND PRIZE: $1,000 U.S. for each division and world premieres at the 2013 ISB Convention.
ANONYMOUS SUBMISSION: Entrants will submit both an audio recording and score, either digitally (email MP3 and PDF files to
with the subject line "2012 ISB Composition Competition Entry") or four CD copies of an audio recording of the entry (need not be of professional quality, MIDI versions are acceptable) and four copies of the score. Scores will not be returned - do not send original copies of your manuscript. Photocopies are acceptable.
The composer's pseudonym must be printed on the music. For digital submissions, email the title, instrumentation and pseudonym along with the MP3 and PDF attachments, plus real name, address, telephone number, fax number and email address. By mail, enclose a 3x5 card with the same information. Entrants will receive an email confirmation that their submissions have been received.
FORMAT: Composers must send highly legible scores suitable for performance. The ISB reserves the right to reject illegible scores.
ENTRANCE FEE: $35, non-refundable, for each composition submitted. You may pay the entry fee online here, Visa or Mastercard only; or enclose your credit card number plus expiration date (Visa, MasterCard or American Express), or payment by check or money order in U.S. funds payable to the International Society of Bassists with your entry.
SEND ENTRIES TO:
ISB Composition Competition
14070 Proton Rd., Suite 100, LB 9
Dallas, Texas 75244, USA
QUESTIONS? Call 972-233-9107 x204, fax 972-490-4219, or email
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Previous Competitions - 2010
Robert Black, chair of the judges' panel for the 2010 ISB / David Walter Composition Competition, along with fellow judges Gottfried Engels and Garth Stevenson, has announced the winners in three divisions: solo bass or bass with keyboard; chamber ensemble for two to five players with a prominent bass part; and bass with electronic media (tape, CD, live electronics, interactive computer, video or film visuals.) The biennial competition, which honors the memory of double bass professor, performer and composer David Walter, is open to all composers. All entries, submitted anonymously, are unpublished works in any style, 6-15 minutes long, that have not been given a formal world premiere (although previous workshop-type performances are permitted.) The grand prize in each division is $1,000 and a premiere performance at the 2011 ISB Convention, to be held June 6-11 at San Francisco State University University.
The three grand prizes were underwritten by Claudia Barritt, widow of legendary bassist and pedagogue David Walter, who was a champion of the double bass and expanding repertoire for the instrument. The ISB renamed the competition as a tribute to his legacy in 2004.
The winners of the 2010 ISB / David Walter Composition Competition are:
SOLO DIVISION - Matthew Kline, Fragments for Solo Double Bass
 Matthew Kline was born in Houston, Texas, and attended the Houston School for Performing and Visual Arts. It was there that he became interested in composition and new music. He became president of the school's composition club and led improvisational ensembles, and studied double bass with Paul Ellison and composition with Michael Bryson. Matthew has attended the Texas Music Festival, Domaine Forget Academy and the Czech-American Institute. He has received awards, performances, and / or commissions from Thomas Bacon, Robert Spring, Maggie Hasspacher, Sandor Ostlund, Todd Meehan, Rodolfo Morales, Alejandro Vela, the HSPVA quartet, members of the Czech Philharmonic and the Robert Avalon composition competition. Active as both a bassist and composer, Matthew Kline is a junior at Baylor University, where he studies composition with Scott McAllister and double bass with Sandor Ostlund. This spring, Matthew will be going to study in Paris with bassist Francois Rabbath.
Honorable Mentions:
- Chia-Yu Hsu, Serenity and Agility
- Nejc Kuhar, Svasta - Everything is Possible
- Marcin Stańczyk, Three Afterimages for Solo Double Bass
CHAMBER DIVISION - Keitaro Takahashi,Oboro
Keitaro Takahashi is a composer, video artist and interface designer born in Tokyo, Japan in 1986. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Kunitachi College of Music, Tokyo, Japan, in 2009. He studied composition and computer music with Professors Takayuki Rai and Cort Lippe and computer programming with Mr. Shu Matsuda. Keitaro is a member of the DIPS (Digital Image Processing with Sound) development team. He is also developing an MPM (Music with Video Sequence) application with Professor Rumi Hiraga at the Tshukuba University of Technology. MPM helps the hearing impaired have a musical experience with supplemental visual information. Currently, Keitaro Takahashi is at the Basel (Switzerland) Musik-Akademie working on his master's degree in composition with Professor Eric Oña.
Honorable Mentions:
- Bin Li, Lake 1B11
- Stephen Yip, Hundun
- David Miguel, Scordabasso
- Liza White, Tango
BASS AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA - Jeff Greene, The Range of Their Vision
 Jeff Greene completed his bachelor of music in jazz studies at Indiana University in 2004, where he studied with David Baker, Bruce Bransby, Pat Harbison and Steve Houghton. In 2004 he was invited to attend the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia, where he studied with David Baker, Nathan Davis, James Moody, Rufus Reid and Danilo Perez. In 2006 he was selected to attend Betty Carter's "Jazz Ahead" program at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC where he studied with Curtis Fuller, George Cables, Winard Harper and Billy Taylor. Jeff has written more than fifty pieces for various ensembles, and recorded more than twenty of his own compositions as the leader of Human Motion and Blink. In 2007 the Illinois Arts Council awarded him an Artists Fellowship in Music Composition. In 2008 he was commissioned to write "Storylines," a large ensemble piece for the Ears and Eyes Festival in Chicago. Currently, Jeff is completing his master's degree in music composition at DePaul University, where he studies with Juan Campoverde and Kurt Westerberg.
Honorable Mention:
- McGregor Boyle, Yahaney Inlet
Congratulations to our 2010 competition winners and many thanks to all 52 entrants from eighteen countries!
Previous Competitions - 2008
Robert Black, professor of double bass at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford and chair of the judges' panel for the 2008 ISB / David Walter Composition Competition, has announced winners in three divisions: solo bass or bass with keyboard; chamber ensemble for two to five players with a prominent bass part; and bass with electronic media (tape, CD, live electronics, interactive computer, video or film visuals.) The biennial competition, which honors the memory of double bass professor, performer and composer David Walter, is open to all composers. All entries, submitted anonymously, are unpublished works in any style, 6-15 minutes long, that have not been given a formal world premiere (although previous workshop-type performances are permitted.) The grand prize in each division is $1,000 and a premiere performance at the 2009 ISB Convention, to be held June 8-13 at Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania. Also serving on the panel of judges were Owen Lee, principal bass with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Yann Dubost, winner of first prize in the solo division of the 2005 ISB Double Bass Competition and member of the Orchestre de Paris.
SOLO DIVISION
The grand prize winner is Sonata for Contrabass and Piano by Peter Fischer. Peter Fischer is Associate Professor of Music at Texas Tech University, where he teaches theory, composition and electronic music. From 1995-2003 he taught at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. Dr. Fischer studied composition with Dinos Constantinides, Peter Hesterman and Mark Lee, and electronic and computer music with Stephen David Beck. He completed a DMA in Music Composition from Louisiana State University in 1996 and holds degrees in Music and Literature/Communications from Illinois Benedictine College, and a master's degree in music composition from Eastern Illinois University.
Honorable Mention commendations in the Solo Division were given to Daydreams and Dances by Jordan Anderson, principal bass of the Seattle Symphony and winner of the 2006 solo division, and to Escape Velocity by Stephen Feigenbaum, a student at Yale College.
CHAMBER DIVISION
The grand prize winner is Chamber Music by Katarzyna Brochocka. In 2007, Ms. Brochocka received a Master Degree of Art with Distinction from the Academy of Music in Wroclaw, Poland, where she studied with Jan Antoni Wichrowski. She is a recipient of the "Socrates-Erasmus" Scholarship, and studied with Doina Rotaru at the University of Music in Bucharest, Romania during the 2005-2006 academic year. Ms. Brochocka is currently pursuing graduate studies at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, where she is a student of Dr. Edward Knight.
An Honorable Mention commendation in the Chamber Division was given to Prelude and Fugazza by Argentina-born bassist Andres Martin, currently double bass professor at the Orchestra of Baja California Conservatory in Tijuana, Mexico.
MEDIA DIVISION
Co-grand prize winners in the Media Division are Grandfather by Garth Stevenson and FE 26 by Benjamin Taylor. Double bassist and composer Garth Stevenson received a full scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music, where he pursued a dual major in performance and jazz compositions and studied privately with John Lockwood. He is now based in New York City, where he is immersed in the experimental and improvised music scenes. He tours internationally as a solo artist and formed the duo "5707" with sound improviser and guitarist Ryan Ferreira. He has released two CDs. Trumpet player and pianist Benjamin Taylor is studying music composition at Brigham Young University, where he performs with and writes music for a variety of chamber ensembles, jazz combos and big bands, wind bands, choirs and experimental ensembles. The university's jazz ensemble commissioned him for two charts to take on tour to the UK. His current projects include a chamber orchestra piece based on photography by Rodney Smith.
The winning compositions will be given world premieres at the 2009 ISB Convention at Penn State University, June 8-13, 2008. Congratulations to our 2008 winners and many thanks to over fifty entrants from around the world.
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