This essay competition is for Lower and Upper Sixth Formers. It is aimed at (but not restricted to) all those in the Sixth Form taking Music A-levels/Highers/IB/Pre-U. The word limit is 2500 words.
Entries should be sent to Sandy Chenery, MMA Honorary Secretary, Brighton College, Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 0AL schenery@brightoncollege.net and should arrive no later than Friday 15 April 2016. Teachers will be asked to certify on a covering form that the essay is the student’s own work.
The Competition will be judged by Professor Jeremy Dibble, The University of Durham.
The prize fund is £350, with a first prize of £200. Certificates of merit may be awarded to runners-up who have impressed the judge. The MMA reserves the right not to award prizes if there is no entry of sufficient merit. Prize-Winners will be announced at the Annual Conference in Lancaster, 20-22 May 2016.
Choose one essay title from this list:
1. Write an analysis of a piece of music you have studied and place it in social and historical context.
2. Consider the effects of the reformation on music in England.
3. How has the medium of listening (live or through recording) affected our perception of musical works in the modern age?
4. What are the uses and limitations of the western system of music notation?
5. The American poet, Longfellow, asserted that ‘Music is the universal language of humanity’. Do you agree?
Entrants are reminded of the need for full citation and footnoting of sources and secondary literature used, and for the provision of a bibliography (where appropriate) at the end of the essay. Music examples and illustrations are welcomed.
For further information about the competition please contact:
Sandy Chenery, MMA Honorary Secretary. schenery@brightoncollege.net