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Celebrating the Musical and Cultural Expressions of the World's Indigenous and Folk Flute Traditions
World Flute Society
Music Awards 2024
The World Flute Society is pleased to announce the establishment of a music awards show program. The mission of the music awards is to provide both honor and recognition to world flute performers and recording artists through a biennial awards program in conjunction with the society’s convention. The inaugural music awards will be at the 2024 convention at the Haas Fine Arts Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, July 17-21, 2024.
This is solely a merit-based awards program.
Submission Guidelines for the 2024 Awards Program
These awards are for the world’s indigenous, folk, and traditional flutists. The silver flute and its role in regional roots music and styles is also appropriate for this award program. These awards are not for classically-oriented silver flute music, even though the music may be created by composers who use cultural themes or incorporate folk songs in their music. The concept of "world flutes" also includes panpipes, ocarinas, whistles, and similar world aerophones.
What Can Be Submitted: Commercially-released recordings from between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023. Specifically, this means recordings released on platform types, such as: Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, iHeart Radio, CDBaby, Amazon, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, etc. Digital submissions must be of the highest quality. Also accepted are hard-copy recordings released on an established label.
When submitting your CD, please send three tracks that are representative of your best work in MP3 format. Send MP3 files to: worldflutes@aol.com Also, please provide a link to the CD in its entirely, or send a hard copy with your submission form. This is for the judge’s reference. It will not be made public, nor will the three submitted tracks.
Open for Submissions: September 1, 2023
Submission Deadline: April 1, 2024 Closed
Submission Fee: $50 for first category and $25 for additional categories. There is a limit of
three category entries per artist/group. Initial fee includes a digital membership in the World Flute Society for one year. Check to World Flute Society. Paypal to account: worldflutes@aol.com
Special Notes: Cultural heritage does not matter when submitting to the categories, as long as the flute instrumentation is appropriate and the submission demonstrates the style of the category. Groups with a flutist or flutists may enter, but the three submitted tracks must significantly feature
the flute. In addition, any attempt to contact or influence the judges in any manner will result in immediate disqualification. Judges and committee members are not eligible to submit music to the awards program.
Submission Form Closed Additional Category Form Closed
Committees and Winners
Awards Judging Committee: The award selections are facilitated by a separate private judging panel that is comprised of music industry and academic professionals.
Awards Planning Committee: Jan Michael Looking Wolf, Robin Gentlewolf, Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl. These individuals are not involved in the judging process.
Winners: Winners will receive a specially-made award by Brent Haines of Woodsounds Flutes. Each category winner will have a feature interview in the World Flute Society’s quarterly publication, Overtones!
Categories
There must be at least four entries for a category to be active in the 2024 awards. If there are not enough entries in a category, those who submitted to that category will receive a refund of their entry fee.
The concept of "world flutes" also includes panpipes, ocarinas, whistles, and similar world aerophones.
Solo Native American-Style Flute Award: This category is for the Native American-style flute without accompaniment. Instruments used can be Native American flute, Native American-style flute, and multi-chamber Native American-style flutes.
Native American-Style Flute with Accompaniment Award: This category is for the Native American flute with accompaniment. Accompanying instrumentation can be percussion, strings, winds, keyboards, digital, nature sounds, etc. The primary instruments used can be Native American flute, Native American-style flute, and multi-chamber Native American-style flutes.
Asian Flute Award: This category is open for all musicians who play flutes of any Asian countries such as: China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, and Mongolia. Performers are encouraged to send both traditional and/or contemporary recordings. Entries may be either solo or ensembles.
World Flutist of the Year: Judges determine the winner of this category from all of the category entries.
Global Jazz Flute Award: This category is open for all musicians who play flute music that clearly merges American jazz traditions/vocabulary (i.e., blues, bebop, hard bop, modal jazz, post-bop, cool jazz, swing, ECM, etc.) with folkloric traditions/vocabulary from any region of the world. Performers are encouraged to send both traditional and/or contemporary recordings. Entries may be either solo or ensembles.
Tropical Flute Styles Award: This category is open for all musicians who play flutes within Tropical traditions, music traditions as informed by countries from the Tropical/Caribbean region such as: Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Cuban, Guadeloupe, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Martin, St. Barthélemy, Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Montserrat, Martinique, San Andrés and Providencia, Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Caiman Islands, Saba, Navassa Island, Curacao, Sint Eustratius. Performers are encouraged to send both traditional and/or contemporary recordings. Entries may be either solo or ensembles.
Mediterranean Flute Award: This category is open for all musicians who play flutes within Mediterranean music traditions as informed by countries from the Mediterranean region such as: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Performers are encouraged to send both traditional and/or contemporary recordings. Entries may be either solo or ensembles.
Central/South Flute Styles Award: This category is open for all musicians who play flutes within Central or South American folkloric musical traditions such as: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Panama. Performers are encouraged to send both traditional and/or contemporary recordings. Entries may be either solo or ensembles.
Celtic Flute Award: This category is open to flute/whistle players who play music from the seven Celtic nations: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, Isle of Man, and Galicia. Entries can be solo or with ensembles, and selections can be traditional or contemporary.
Multiple-Flute Recording Award: This category is for individuals who play a variety of world flutes (three or more) on the recording, with or without accompaniment. Selections can be traditional or contemporary.
New Age World Flutist: This category is open for all musicians who play flute within the New Age genre. The arrangements can utilize both electronic and acoustic instruments and can include ambient, folk, jazz, Asian, classical, pop and environmental elements. The album must have at least 60 percent playing time of newly-recorded material. The recording must heavily feature the flute which must be played acoustically. Flute sounds produced by synthesizers, samplers, or similar electronic devices are not allowed.
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