From Chicago to New York, Los Angeles to Boston, Rio de Janeiro to Paris, great cities across the country and around the world have had music written about them. This year, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is looking for original songs or compositions about living in Birmingham.
ASC Commissions Birmingham will kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 21, the first day interested parties may make submissions. Songwriters and composers are invited to share their talent by submitting one or more songs/compositions for consideration. All genres and instruments are eligible. The song must be original. To participate, a video of any production quality, including video shot on a phone, must be submitted via YouTube link to the ASC at makemusicbham@uab.edu. The project will begin Jan. 21, and the submission deadline is April 21. Finalists will be announced May 21 on the Alys Stephens Center’s Facebook page. For more information, call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.
Up to 12 top works will be selected from entries to be performed at Birmingham Makes Music Day, an outdoor music festival on June 21 at the ASC, 1200 10th Ave. South. Each finalist will be awarded a $250 stipend to perform a short set live. Three performers, selected by the audience and a panel of judges, will each win $1,000 and studio time at UAB to record their winning songs.
The ASC Commissions Birmingham panel will choose the top works. The panel includes Chris Confessore, resident conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra; Eric Essix, UAB Department of Music instructor and president of Essix Music Group/Essential Recordings; composer Yotam Haber, director of MATA Festival; Bobby Horton, musical historian and composer; Kimberly Kirklin, director of the ASC’s ArtPlay; Henry Panion III, university professor of Music in the UAB Department of Music and president of Audiostate 55 Recording Studios and Entertainment Co.; Scott Register, host of “Reg’s Coffeehouse” on Birmingham Mountain Radio; Jessica Simpson, artistic programming consultant and curator for the ASC; Carla Jean Whitley, managing editor of Birmingham magazine; and Kelvin Wooten, producer and songwriter.