Sydney chamber choir Bel a cappella is currently accepting entries for its inaugural Choral Composition Prize. Three Australian composers will be awarded $1500 each for an original a capella choir work written for up to eight voice parts. What’s more, the choir plans to perform the world premiere of the  three winning works on its 2021 tour to Northern Europe and the Baltic.

Bel a cappella and its Music Director Anthony Pasquill. Photograph © Karen Watson

The tour and the new competition were organised before the COVID-19 crisis hit. “So will we actually be going on tour next year? Who knows,” admits Music Director Anthony Pasquill. If the tour – scheduled to include St Petersburg, Stockholm, Helsinki Tallin and Riga – has to be postponed because of restrictions to travel and live performance, Pasquill says that Bel a cappella will do all it can to reschedule the dates.

“We planned this well before the coronavirus came about so it’s nice that something like this, that does give a voice to Australian composers, has come at a time when most people do have more time to sit and be creative,” says Pasquill.

“A lot of people,...