St John's College Kendrew Prize open for submission

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Date 6 May 2022

The College is delighted to announce the first-ever prize in songwriting at St John's is now open for entries

The competition is open to any current University of Oxford student, at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Submissions in any genre, style, tradition, or language are eligible. The submitted song must be original (covers are not allowed) and must not have won a prize in another competition.

Two prizes are up for grabs, a £500 first prize and a £250 second prize. In Trinity Term 2022, applicants will be able to participate in workshops led by St John’s Sound Artist in Residence Rory Campbell (Rawz), although participation in the workshops is not required for taking part in the prize competition.

Eligibility

This competition is open to any current University of Oxford student (undergraduate or postgraduate in any course of study). Co-written songs are eligible.

Schedule

  • Trinity Term 2022: Group workshops led by Rawz (Rory Campbell) and his colleagues from Inner Peace Records
  • Thursday, 2 June 2022 at 12:00 noon: Deadline for receipt of song (see application process below)
  • Thursday, 16 June 2022: Winners announced; showcase performance of winning songs at the St John's Auditorium

Application Process

The application form can be submitted by clicking on the following link (note that you will need to use your SSO to access the form): https://forms.office.com/r/AywzdDbcn8

The following application materials should be submitted by Thursday, 2 June 2022 at 12:00 noon:

  • A stereo MP3 or WAV file of ONE recorded original song of no longer than SIX MINUTES in duration;
  • A 500-word description of the song, including relevant information about performers, instrumentation, place of recording, technology used, etc.;
  • The full lyrics of the song, including a translation if the song is composed and performed in a language (or languages) other than English.

Submissions will be reviewed by Rawz (Rory Campbell, St John’s 2022 Sound Artist in Residence), Tiece (Tessa Cavanna, singer/producer and Assistant Producer, Oxford Contemporary Music), Sarah Hill (Associate Professor of Popular Music at the Faculty of Music and Tutor at St Peter's College), and Jason Stanyek (Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the Faculty of Music and Fellow and Tutor at St John’s College). The winners will be invited to perform their song live, or play a recording of their song, at a showcase performance on Thursday, 16 June 2022 at the St John’s College Auditorium.