The Conlon Foundation is announcing the first Conlon Music Prize for Disklavier Plus for a new work for Yamaha Disklavier. The prize of the competition will consist of a performance in the prestigious 2011 Gaudeamus Music Week in the Netherlands.

The kickoff of the Competition will take place at STEIM as a part  part of the Gaudeamus Muziekweek 2010. During this event a new work by Hugo Morales Murguía for Disklavier, pianist and electronics will be performed by Sarah Nicolls and the composer. There will be presentations by Christina Oorebeek on the history of the player piano and her own work for the Disklavier, by Frank Baldé (software programmer STEIM) on using alternative controllers with STEIM's junXion software in combination with the Disklavier, and by Luc Houtkamp on pitch recognition and its use with the Disklavier. Afterwards there will be drinks and opportunities to talk about the competition in an informal fashion.

Conlon Foundation

The Conlon Foundation was conceived to further the development and use of new and existing midified acoustic musical instruments. These instruments are electronically controlled and have replaced the electrically and/or mechanically driven instruments made for centuries; for example, wind-up music boxes, clocks, dance organs, and, of course, pianola's or player piano's, so fabulously successful in the 20th century.  The inspiration for our name, "Conlon" refers, of course, to the father of 'new music' for pianola's/player piano's, composer and innovator Conlon Nancarrow.

Submission guidelines can be found at www.conlon.nl/prize