Jeu de temps / Times Play 2023 (JTTP 2023)

Call for works from young and/or emerging electroacoustic artists

A broad, multi-level project, Jeu de temps / Times Play (JTTP) is an annual project aimed at promoting and celebrating new creative work by young and/or emerging electroacoustic artists from (or living in) Canada.

JTTP 2023 is the 24^th edition of the project since the Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC) began coordinating it in 2000.

New(s) | Overview | FAQ | Criteria | Prizes/Awards | Contact | Schedule

New(s)

Revised Submission Contract; New Jury Guidelines. The contract outlining the terms to which JTTP participants agree with their submissions as well as the guidelines provided to JTTP jury members were overhauled in early 2023 with the collaboration of a Focus Group formed for this task. The revised Contract for Participation in Sonus and Other CEC Projects and the new Adjudication Guidelines for JTTP Jury Members can now be consulted by anyone at any time.

Deadline. The submission deadline is May 31.

Thematic Awards. As of JTTP 2021, participants may request that the jury also consider their submission for one or more thematic awards (described below).

A Brief Overview

The Submission Criteria and Rules provide extensive information below, but a few points are worth mentioning right away:

• Submission. The deadline for online submissions is May 31.
• Genre. JTTP is not an acousmatic-oriented project; all electroacoustic genres are welcome.
• Format. Stereo and multi-channel works are eligible, as are videomusic works.
• Adjudication. An international jury assesses the submissions anonymously.
• Prizes and Awards. Five submissions are declared Prizewinning Works by the jury; four participants receive Thematic Awards, upon jury recommendation.

FAQ

What is “electroacoustic”?

Advocating the widest possible interpretation of the umbrella term “electroacoustic”, the CEC understands this field of creative activity to encompass a divergent range of studio and live practices, from acousmatic and musique concrète to circuit bending and hardware hacking to sound art and videomusic, but also embracing live coding and glitch, soundscape and acoustic ecology, electronic and tape music, sound design and live audiovisual, turntablism and generative, as well as any combination or permutation thereof.

What does JTTP provide its participants?

The project offers an unprecedented degree of support to young and/or emerging electroacoustic artists. All of the participants benefit from:

• Inclusion in a competition with an international jury;
• Ongoing support and presence through the CEC’s website, where all programme notes and biographies are available, and all submissions can be heard / viewed;
• Inclusion in Sonus, the CEC’s online Jukebox for electroacoustic works.

Additionally, thanks to the generous contributions of our Project Partners, the composers of the top five prizewinning works are also offered:

• Awards packages that include CDs, books and journal subscriptions, as well as cash prizes to the top three prizewinners and the four thematic award recipients (total prize packages worth over $3500);
• Multiple radio broadcasts by our Canadian and international Media Partners;
• International concert presentation of the selected works.

The best way to find out about the project is to look through past editions of JTTP on the CEC’s website. There you can find lists of jury members and Project Partners for each edition, as well as listen to the submissions from all editions and read the programme and biographical notes.

Who is eligible?

Young and/or emerging electroacoustic artists from (or living in) Canada.

What is a “young and/or emerging electroacoustic artist”?

This would be someone who is likely to be continuing studies in an educational facility or possibly someone for whom there has been little or no national or international recognition of their work and potential in the short period of time that they have been involved in the field.

Do I need to become a CEC member to participate in the project?

No. Participants are not required to be or become CEC members.

What about copyright?

All participants retain full copyright of their work but with their submission assign mechanical rights to the CEC so that it may promote the work publicly in the context of JTTP.

Submission Criteria and Rules

The deadline for online submissions is May 31.

• Submissions can only be made online through a Sonus.ca user account.
• Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.
• Only one work will be accepted per participant.
• There is no maximum duration for submissions.
• Videomusic and multi-channel works are eligible.
• The jurying process is anonymous.
• All works (except videos) submitted to JTTP will be automatically added to Sonus, the CEC’s online sound library of electroacoustic practices.

The Submission Process

You must create a user account on Sonus.ca in order to submit a work to JTTP. Do not wait until the last minute to create your account, as this may take a little time, depending on the volume of requests.

1. Log in to your Sonus profile (or create one, if you haven’t already).
2. Select Submit from the menu; click on “Submit a work by [YourName]”.
3. Fill in the Submission Form with information about the work; make sure to select “Yes” in the JTTP section.
4. By clicking on “Submit” you agree to the Contract for Participation in Sonus and Other CEC Projects.
5. You will be redirected and asked to submit all files (audio, scores, technical diagrammes) related to your submission.

Accepted Media Formats

JTTP only accepts audio files in non-compressed formats (no mp3, etc.).

Multi-Channel Submissions

All multi-channel submissions must include:

• All files named according to the File Naming Conventions described below;
• A stereo mixdown of the work (NO mp3, only original non-compressed audio);
• A detailed Technical Sheet (see below) as a separate file (PDF);

File Naming Convention for Speaker Positioning

Use the format “lastname_keywordfromtitle_POSITION.extension” to name your files (change all special characters to Roman letters: e.g., change éèê to e, etc.). Do not include any other information in the file names (e.g., bit depth or sample rate).

To indicate the speaker position for each stem, use capital letters as follows for works up to 8.1 (larger setups should be based on this model and detailed in an annex to the Technical Sheet):

L = left
C = centre
R = right
F = front
S = side
B = behind
SUB = subwoofer

LF CF RF

LS    RS

LB CB RB

E.g.: The submission of a work by Kevin Austin titled The Mandolin Rises at Noon, for solo loudspeaker and subwoofer (1.1), would contain the following files:

• austin_mandolin_CF.aif
• austin_mandolin_SUB.aif

Technical Sheet for Multi-Channel Submissions

Use keywords from the title of your work to name the Technical Sheet. Do not indicate your name or any identifying information, as this sheet will be provided to the jury.

Indicating the following information for your submission, and feel free to add any other relevant information:

• Sampling rate and bit depth of the multi-channel and stereo formats;
• Speaker positioning diagramme (use the convention indicated above);
• Proposal for channel assignment for a 5.1 setup;
• Proposal for panning positioning of channels to listen to the work in stereo (e.g., L LC C RC R)

NB: During the submission process you can choose whether or not to allow the multi-channel files to be downloadable by Sonus users.

Videomusic Submissions

In addition to the official work, a second version of videomusic submissions must be included that is identical except that any credits, names or other identifying features have been removed. This anonymous version will be provided to the jury.

All videomusic submissions must be in one of the following formats: Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD.

NB: Even though Sonus does not currently accept video formats, your submission must be made using the form on the Sonus website. The video will NOT be integrated in Sonus.

Prizes and Thematic Awards

The CEC is pleased to offer five prizes as well as four thematic awards for each edition of JTTP.

General Eligibility Criteria

Who is eligible? Any artist who meets the JTTP eligibility — young and/or emerging electroacoustic artists from (or living in) Canada — may submit their creative work to participate in the project. All eligible works will be considered by the international jury for the 1^st to 5^th prizes. Additionally, participants may indicate their interest in being considered for one or more of the thematic awards in their JTTP submission form.

JTTP Prizes

Five prizewinners are selected by the jury and are awarded prize packages comprising CEC memberships, prize money (1^st Prize $400, 2^nd Prize $200, 3^rd Prize $100), CDs and DVDs, books and journal subscriptions donated to the project by individual and institutional Project Partners.

Thematic Awards — Descriptions and Eligibility

Four thematic awards (each in the amount of $300) were launched as part of the 22^nd edition of JTTP coordinated by the CEC and are awarded annually — at the CEC Board’s discretion — upon recommendation of the JTTP jury.

What is eligible? Information about eligibility is found in the individual descriptions for the new awards.

NB: The CEC Board of Directors reserves the right to award or to not award any or all of the thematic awards for individual editions of JTTP.

The Hildegard Westerkamp Award for Soundscape and Sound Installation

Eligible works, projects and practices for the Westerkamp Award include:

• Soundscape Composition / Acoustic Ecology
• Sound Installation
• Soundwalk
• Phonography

Listening. Canadian composer Hildegard Westerkamp remains one of the most influential soundscape composers, researchers and lecturers around the globe. Her renowned work in the field extends back to her involvement in the original World Soundscape Project in the early 1970s.

The Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux Award for Self-Identified Female or Non-Binary Electroacoustic Artists

Eligible works, projects and practices for the Saint-Marcoux Award include:

• Any genre found within the broader, inclusive category of electroacoustic practices.

Activating. Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux was a vanguard Canadian composer and educator. Following her return from Paris in 1971, her activities were instrumental to the development and awareness of cross-disciplinary practices and spatial music within the broader Canadian contemporary music scene.

The Jean Piché Award for Videomusic, New Media and Creative Coding

Eligible works, projects and practices for the Piché Award include:

• Videomusic / Visual music
• New Media / Creative coding (related to electroacoustic practices)

Designing. Canadian composer Jean Piché is a pioneer in the ever-evolving field of videomusic practices, with a penchant for abstracted visuals and multi-screen presentation. His contributions to software development for digital sound synthesis and processing benefit a range of electroacoustic practices.

The Martin Gotfrit and Martin Bartlett Award for Live Electroacoustic Practices

Eligible works, projects and practices for the Gotfrit and Bartlett Award include:

• Live performances and practices in the electroacoustic, mixed and audiovisual arts.

Supporting. Martin Bartlett was an inspirational Canadian composer-performer of live electronics with synthesizers and self-built electronic devices (collaborating extensively with Don Buchla on design) that explored or incorporated aleatoric components. He was one of the founders of Vancouver’s Western Front.

Stimulating. A founding member of Metamusic (Montréal) and Hextremities (Vancouver) ensembles, Canadian interdisciplinary composer-performer and educator Martin Gotfrit has been a dynamic force in Canada’s live electronic and interdisciplinary performance scene since the 1970s.

Benefactor

The JTTP Thematic Awards were initiated in 2021 by Kevin Austin, highly respected for his sustained support of electroacoustic practices in Canada since the early 1970s. Kevin is a legal co-founder of the CEC (1986) and designed the original model for JTTP, which has been coordinated since 2000 by the CEC.

Personnel and Contact

Who supports this project?

JTTP is supported by CEC membership dues and funding provided by the SOCAN Foundation, as well as by generous donations from a number of individual and institutional Project Partners.

Who can I contact for more info?

For any questions that have not been answered on this page or in the longer and more detailed explanation, email the project administrators at jttp@sonus.ca.

Project Schedule

May 31 — Deadline for submissions
June 1 – July 15 — Jury deliberations
July 31 — Results announced to the participants
September — Results announced publicly