DYCE is a small-scale European project co-funded through the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union during the years 2018-2020.

DYCE has four partners:

Divertimento Ensemble, project coordinator - Milan, Italy

Cikada ensemble - Oslo, Norway

Ensemble U: - Tallinn, Estonia

Taller Sonoro - Seville, Spain

DYCE’s starting point is a Call for Scores that will be rendered accessible to the largest possible number of composition students from all European Universities, Conservatories, Musikhochschulen and Music Schools: this is the first stage of a diverse cultural project involving performances and educational paths. It will engage both music professionals and audiences, bringing long-term results in the European musical and cultural scene.

The four partners have conceived an international project which enables them to expand their national experience to a European level and bring young European composers to the international stage. Primary goals of the project include active audience engagement, the commission of four new compositions and a new CD.

DYCE starts with a Composition competition (October 2018 – January 2019) open to the composition students and alumni (graduated in the last two years) of all European Academies, Conservatories, Musikhochschulen and Music schools which issue an academic qualification. Addressing music academies will make it possible to scout for very young talents and reach promising composers from all over Europe.
The Call for Scores will help DYCE partners gain a thorough insight of European young composers’ creativity and of the diverse trends in the teaching of composition found throughout Europe. The data gathered will be illustrated during the final convention as an important outcome of the project.

Europe has been divided into four main areas and each partner will be in charge of disseminating the Call for Scores in the area it has been assigned. The countries belonging to each area are listed below.

Divertimento Ensemble, red region: Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, ExYugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia), Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Malta.

Taller Sonoro, green region: Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, The Netherlands.

Cikada, blue region: Norway, Sweden, Finland, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Iceland

Ensemble U:, yellow region: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine.

Each applicant shall submit a score for an ensemble of six musicians (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion).
Application deadline: 15th January 2019.

An international jury, made up by three renowned composers and the four artistic directors of DYCE partners, will select 12 scores, 3 for each region.

On the 28th of April 2019, the 12 selected pieces will be performed in four concerts by DYCE’s four partners, and each partner will execute the three pieces belonging to their area.

This will offer the 12 winners the chance of a professional public performance and a video-recording of their piece. Moreover, it will aid them at the outset of their professional careers thanks to the high profile nature of the concert, and the opportunity of using the recording for promotional purposes.

The four concerts will take place on the same day, at different times in the four partner cities, with a streaming broadcast from each concert hall to the other three. Audiences will accordingly be able to listen to all 12 pieces: 3 live and 9 in streaming. Special attention will be given to the quality of the streaming, in order to guarantee a perfect and pleasant listening experience.

In the days 29th April - 1st May, audiences who attended the concerts in Milan, Oslo, Sevilla and Tallinn, together with the musicians and conductors of the four ensembles, will vote and select 4 scores from the 12 they listened to (live or in streaming).

Each of the 4 seleted scores will belong to a different European area, so that the 4 areas are equally represented.

This vote will mark the completion of the Audience Development program.

The four selected composers will be commissioned to compose one new 12/15-minute piece on the same instruments used for the Call for Scores, and will receive € 5000 each. The new scores will have to be completed and uploaded on the DYCE website by the 15th of January 2020.

LATEST NEWS

Due to the Covid19 emergency, the DYCE concerts, the final convention and the release of the CD could not take place in spring 2020, as planned.

Please find here the calendar of autumn 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The following text refers to the original DYCE project, before the coronavirus emergency

************************

In April and May 2020, each of the 4 commissioned pieces will be performed four times,in four concerts: they will be played by the partners in their towns, on different dates.

Consequently the young composers will begin an important musical journey: they will be invited to Milan, Seville, Tallinn and Oslo to attend the rehearsals and the concerts, working closely with the ensembles and conductors.

After the four concerts in April/May 2020, the four ensembles will record a CD, playing one score each. This will be an important form of recognition, and a useful promotional tool for the young composers. It will also enrich the European contemporary repertoire and music library.

The CD will be presented during the final convention (June 2020) as well as in specialised press, online magazines and social networks. Its international distribution will bring substantial and durable results on both a domestic and international level.

A final convention will take place in Milan in June 2020. It will report on the experiences enjoyed by the DYCE audiences, and will focus on many other aspects of New Music in Europe: the different composition schools and styles/languages, the relations between composers and other professionals in the field, the different "markets" of the European areas and the overall openings available to young composers.
During the event, the CD will be presented to composers, journalists, music experts, music lovers and the audience.

Many DYCE protagonists will take part in the convention: the ensembles/partners, the four commissioned composers, the members of the competition’s jury, members of the audience who have taken part in the Audience Development program, experts from the world of New Music and anyone interested.

The meeting will be conducted in English and will be video-recorded.

The final convention will be an occasion to share the project in all its detail, and make its outcomes available, creating a positive legacy for DYCE in the process.