All nominated works must meet the following guidelines.

Any work that does not meet these guidelines will be disqualified.

• A nominated work must:
  • Demonstrate its relevance to the Prize theme – a celebration of excellence in new Jewish music; and
  • be scored for the musical forces of Orchestre Métropolitain: 3(1.2.picc)3(1.2.eh)2.2/4.2.3(1.2.bass trb).1 /timp+1 perc/hp/str
    (see https://orchestremetropolitain.com/en/about/musicians/)
  • In addition, works may also include:
    • Up to two (2) soloists (vocal and/or instrumental)
    • Additional keyboard instruments (e.g. piano, organ, harpsichord and/or synthesizers); and/or
    • pre-recorded digital media
  • Submitted works must not exceed sixty (60) musicians in total

The composer or composer’s estate that wins the Azrieli Prize agrees to:

• have the winning work premiered as part of the AMP Gala Concert; performed in two additional international concerts; and professionally audio recorded, mixed and mastered for commercial release on the Analekta label;
• be available in person (either physically or virtually, as conditions dictate) for the rehearsals and performances of the winning work; and
• participate in outreach events, workshops, press conferences, media interviews, and other such promotion and education activities as they relate to the Azrieli Music Prizes and its objectives to educate the general public about the enduring appeal and artistic importance of works that result from engaging with the topic of Jewish music.

In addition to the guidelines and requirements stated above, the AMP Juries have provided the following considerations to help shape a more successful submission:

• Don’t worry about how ‘Jewish’ you are (or are not) before considering a submission to one of the prizes. People from all faiths, backgrounds, gender identities, ages and affiliations are equally welcome to share their artistry, creativity and musicality in response to the Prize themes. In fact, one of the Foundation’s hopes for AMP is to generate productive intercultural understandings through a rich consideration of what Jewish music is and can be.
• Carefully consider the guiding notes below in addressing your reflections on what constitutes Jewish music. A successful submission will suggest an interesting, appropriate yet compelling response to these reflections in the shape of a musical work. We are looking for composers who have extended their own creativity, inquisitiveness and thoughtfulness in seeking out this response. We are also calling for a deeper, more purposeful and conscious consideration of Jewish values and experiences that extend beyond simple representations of Jewish people or subjects, or simple incorporations of Jewish secular, sacred and/or traditional musical materials. We are seeking works that are authentic, original, honest and convincing.
• A submission package must be conceptually and musically balanced. Strong, wonderful musical examples accompanied by an insubstantial explanatory note will not succeed within the competition. The inverse is also true: a strong explanatory note will not compensate for weak musical examples. The two must go hand-in-hand.
• Please note that the quality of submitted scores and recordings greatly affects the Jury’s ability to evaluate your application. Please be sure that submitted scores are easily legible and that recordings are as clear and undistorted as possible. If the quality of the score or sound is so poor that it’s difficult to ascertain the artistic product, this will impact an evaluation.

*For technical questions, please check out our Help Desk for frequently asked questions.*

Once received, submissions are first registered and screened by our staff for eligibility and completeness.

Submissions are then pre-screened by a small team of staff and Jury members to evaluate their fit and relevancy to Prize themes. Those submissions that clear the pre-screening process are then delivered as qualified submissions to the AMP Jury for Jewish Music for their evaluation.

The Jury reviews and grade the qualified submissions using the following three main criteria: Artistic Merit, Technical Merit and Thematic Fit. These criteria are weighted based on their level of importance to arrive at a score out of 100 for each evaluated submission.

Artistic Merit (60 points)

This is the most important criteria the Jury applies in evaluating each submission. It is directly tied to the composer’s proven ability to write original concert music of high artistic merit.

The Jury will determine:

• the level of creativity displayed in the conceptual, formal/structural and musical ideas of each qualified submission;
• the ability of the submitted musical examples to sustain a listener’s attention over their entire length;
• the level of authenticity and distinctiveness displayed in the composer’s artistic voice;
• the composer’s ability to work successfully within the complex format of orchestral music (i.e. up to 60 musicians); and
• the composer’s capacity to generate high quality, original and professional musical material based on the 2022 AMP guidelines for instrumentation and duration.

Technical Merit (20 points)

The Jury will evaluate each qualified submission with the aim of identifying how well thought-out it is in regards to its use of rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture, dynamics and orchestration. They will evaluate these elements especially in regard to how well they express or positively reinforce the composer’s purpose and intentions for the submitted work, and as they relate to the objectives of the Azrieli Music Prizes.

Thematic Fit (20 points)

The Jury will evaluate whether the qualified submission offers a topical and original fit to the objectives of the Azrieli Music Prizes based on the approved guidelines of what constitutes Jewish music.

The decisions of both AMP Juries are final and non-negotiable. There is no appeal process.

For the purpose of the Azrieli Music Prizes, the Azrieli Foundation defines ‘Jewish music’ as broadly as possible, taking into account the rich and diverse history of Jewish musical traditions, as well as music by Jews and non-Jews, which may be said to incorporate a Jewish thematic or Jewish musical influence.

Jewish themes may vary broadly, and can include biblical, historical, liturgical, secular and/or folk elements.

Fundamentally, the Foundation encourages an understanding of Jewish music as deeply rooted in history and tradition, yet forward-moving and dynamic. As such, it encourages themes and content drawn from contemporary Jewish life and experience.

Jewish music can*:

• be based purposefully and consciously on musical materials traditionally perceived as belonging to a specifically “Jewish melos” – sacred or secular;
• incorporate actual liturgical melodies or secular folk tunes from any one of numerous distinct geographic or cultural Jewish traditions;
• be based on Jewish historical or biblical subjects, events, or characters, or Jewish legends or literary themes;
• include or be founded upon Jewish texts or Jewish literature (prose, poetry, or drama);
• incorporate specifically Jewish languages such as Hebrew, Yiddish, or Ladino;
• depict in musical terms, with or without sung or spoken text, visual images of Jewish connection (landscapes in the land of Israel, for example) or scenes of Jewish religious or folk life (a Hassidic gathering, a Yemenite Jewish wedding, or daily life of Jews in an eastern European market town, or shtetl, to cite three examples);
• express moods of Jewish life-cycle events or holy days;
• give voice to Judaic ideas or concepts; and/or
• have been composed expressly for a Jewish commemoration, celebration, ceremony, or other occasion—conceived in some way to represent the nature of that occasion.

*excerpted from Dr. Neil W. Levin, The Milken Archive of Jewish Music