Competition Being Held to Create Alma Mater at SMSU
Published Tuesday, November 13, 2018
A competition to create an SMSU Alma Mater will be held in the coming months, and is open to everyone — especially those with ties to SMSU.
“An Alma Mater serves as a hymn, or an anthem associated with a school or university,” said Dr. Stephen Kingsbury, Associate Professor of Music at SMSU.
The competition is “open to anyone; however, the task force created to oversee the competition is especially interested in soliciting entries from individuals with a connection to SMSU. Current and former faculty, administrators, staff and students are encouraged to enter,” said Kingsbury.
The competition has two rounds. “The first is the creation of the text — the poem to go with it,” said Kingsbury. “Round 2 is the creation of the melody to be used with the text from Round 1.”
The deadline for Round 1 is Feb. 1, 2019; the deadline for Round 2 is March 15, 2019.
The new SMSU Alma Mater will be premiered by the SMSU music ensembles at their spring 2019 performance.
The competition rules:
What is an Alma Mater?
- An Alma Mater serves as a hymn or an anthem associated with a school or university. Alma Maters tend to be serious and reflective. They serve a ceremonial purpose in the life of an academic institution, being used at formal events such as convocation, commencement, and the installation of new campus leadership.
Entrants:
- The SMSU Alma Mater competition is open to anyone; however, the task force is especially interested in soliciting entries from individuals with a connection to SMSU
- Current and former faculty, administrators, staff and students are encouraged to enter
- Entrants must be age 16 and up
- Individuals may enter either or both rounds of the competition
Submissions
- Entries for both rounds of the competition should be submitted to Diana Holmes (FA 207 or diana.holmes@smsu.edu)
- Round 1 entries are due on or before February 1, 2019
- Entries should be in the form of a poem
- The subject of the poem should be SMSU, as it relates to tradition, education, the importance of education, service, etc.
- The poem should be one to three stanzas in length
- Each stanza should be approximately 4 to 6 lines in length
- Stanzas should have a recognizable rhythmic pattern and may make use of end-line rhymes
- The overall form of the poem is at the discretion of the poet
- Entries should be typed
- The task force reserves the right to edit the winning entry as necessary, but will only do so with the knowledge and consent of the author
- The winning entry will be announced on February 15, 2019
- Round 2 entries are due on or before March 15, 2019
- Entries should be in the form of a melody that sets the winning text from Round 1
- Chord symbols for the intended chords are allowed, but not required
- Entries should include a suggested tempo indication
- Entries should be submitted in standard musical notation (either handwritten, or electronic) with appropriate text underlay
- The winning entry will be announced on April 1, 2019
- In the event that there is no entry selected as the winner of round 1, round 2 will be delayed
- There will be a cash prize in the amount of $1,000 awarded to the winning entry in each round
- The new SMSU Alma Mater will be premiered by the SMSU music ensembles at their spring 2019 performance
Questions about the competition may be addressed to Dr. Stephen Kingsbury, 537-7247; stephen.kingsbury@smsu.edu
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