essay contest

The Hawaii Youth Symphony presents its first annual Essay Contest with a chance to win up to $150.

Click here to download contest Rules, Cover Page and Judging Criteria

Eligibility
This contest is open to all HYS students enrolled in the 2008-2009 season. There is no cost to enter the contest.

Rules

• All entries must be received or postmarked by October 31, 2008.
• Contestants may submit only one essay entry during any given contest year.
• Entries must be original essays with limited guidance from others.
• HYS reserves the right to edit, publish or duplicate any essay entry without payment to the author. Authorship will be noted whenever practical.
• If more than one page is needed for the essay portion, all pages, including bibliography (if necessary) should be numbered as follows: 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc.
• Each entry must include a cover page.
• Eligible essays must address the topics and abide by allowable word count as stated below.
• Though not required, research efforts to support ideas will be given points. Students should properly cite interviews or copyrighted material used in the essay. Citations to include in ( ), foot or endnotes: author, title of work, publication, page # or website. Citations should not be included in word count. Entries that fail to identify non-original material will be disqualified. If there is additional information used for research but not cited, sources should appear in bibliography attached to essay.

Judging

• Each entry will be assigned a number upon receipt. The assigned number will be placed on the title page and first page of the essay. The title page will be detached and retained by the HYS office. Judges will only see assigned numbers on the essays.
• All entries will be judged by the same panel. Judges will not discuss or compare essays until all entries have been judged.
• Winning entries must receive a minimum of 50 points (out of 100) from each judge.
• Only judges can assign points according to judging criteria.

Topics and Format

Division I (grades 10-12)
500-1,000 words (each word counts), typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins
Address at least two of the following questions in one cohesive essay.

1. What defines a musician?
2. Who is your favorite orchestral musician and what did they do to become great?
3. Why is orchestral music important to our music community?

Division II (grades 7-9)
500-750 words (each word counts), typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins
Address at least two of the following questions in one cohesive essay.

1. What defines a musician?
2. How does playing an instrument impact other areas of life?
3. Why has orchestral music stood the test of time?

Division III (grades 3-6)
250 words, typed, 12-pt font, double-spaced or legibly handwritten. Answer both questions in your essay.

1. Why do you like orchestral music?
2. What is your favorite piece of orchestral music and why?