Guidelines for
Musical Submissions to Shalshelet

Who May Submit Music

• The application process is open to anyone who has composed a melody for a Jewish liturgical text—regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation, or musical background.
• Professionals and non-professionals alike may apply.
• Students are encouraged to apply. Applicants under 18 years of age must have a parent or legal guardian sign the application on their behalf.
• The members of Shalshelet’s  Music Review Committee may not submit their own musical compositions for inclusion in the Festival.

Guidelines for Music

• A musical composition submitted to Shalshelet may be
• a choral work (for choirs or vocal ensembles),
• a simple melody, or
• a melody with instrumental arrangement.
• The composition can be in any musical style and can be intended for
• the entire congregation,
• a sheliah tzibbur (service leader) or cantor, or
• some combination of the above.
• The composition
• must have been composed for a sacred Jewish text, in Hebrew or the language of your choice,
• must be an original work,
• must not have been previously published by a major publishing house such as (but not limited to) Transcontinental, Tara, Zamir, or Soundswrite publications, or by a professional organization such as (but not limited to) the Cantors Assembly, unless it is a self-published work and the organization functions more as a distributor or a clearing-house than an actual publisher. If a composer has questions about what constitutes a “previously published” work, he or she should e-mail Shalshelet for clarification.
• If a composition is selected for the Festival, the composer will retain the copyright to his/her original work. However, he or she must grant a license to Shalshelet to arrange the composition for uses associated with the Festival, to perform the composition at the Festival, to publish the composition as part of the Festival book, and to distribute the composition as part of the Festival CD. Musical arrangements for uses associated with the Festival will be made in consultation with the composer. Musical arrangements, whether commissioned by Shalshelet or written by members of its Board of Directors or Advisory Board, will belong solely to the arranger(s) and/or Shalshelet. Shalshelet, in turn, will give composers a nonexclusive license to any arrangements it makes of the composition. Shalshelet will not make any other use of the composition without the composer’s written permission. All proceeds for sales of Festival CDs and/or songbooks will belong to Shalshelet.
• Multiple compositions must be submitted separately. Materials submitted for consideration will not be returned. Compositions submitted after the deadline will be considered for the following year’s festival.

The Review Process

To ensure a fair, unbiased competition, the members of the Music Review Committee and any members of the Advisory Board they might consult will receive all submissions by blind copy.

• On receiving your composition, Shalshelet’s secretary will send you an acknowledgment of receipt, assign the composition a number, and separate the composition and the first (blind) cover sheet from the other application materials.
• Once the deadline for submissions has passed, the secretary will send all the compositions, with blind cover sheets, to the members of the Music Review Committee.
• The Music Review Committee will review the compositions and determine whether to send any of them to members of the Advisory Board for consideration.
• If any member of the Music Review Committee recognizes the identity of a composer, then that member of the Music Committee must recuse him or herself from the process of judging the composition in question. The other two judges will complete their own evaluations independently. If they reach a consensus as to whether to accept or reject the composition, then their decision shall be taken as final. In the event of a disagreement between the two remaining judges, then the composition shall be submitted to one or more members of Shalshelet's Advisory Board. To ensure that the Advisory Board's process of evaluation is fair, its members shall receive the composition in question, as well as a representative sample of other compositions already accepted as well as rejected by the Music Review Committee. This procedure shall apply in the event that more than one member of the Music Review Committee recuses him or herself, or in the event that the Music Review Committee cannot reach a consensus about a particular composition.
• Shalshelet will notify composers if a composition is selected for the Festival.

Music Review Committee

Hazzan Dr. Ramón Tasat
Hazzan Natasha J. Hirschhorn
Dr. Norma Brooks