The Radio 3 Carol Competition is a chance to create music for a new Christmas song.

Applicants should compose a melody for words from Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, Christmas Carol. You can read the words and hear them read by actor Ken Nwosu via the link below.

The winning carol will be one that can be sung, in unison, by any group of singers of mixed ability - a congregational carol for the 21st century.

The winner of the competition will have their carol played throughout the festive season on BBC Radio 3.

In November, our judges will listen to all the entries and work together to create a final shortlist of six carols.

The composers of the shortlisted carols will be notified and invited to collaborate with an arranger on a harmonisation of their melodies. All six shortlisted carols will then be recorded professionally by the BBC Singers.

In December, we’ll play the six shortlisted carols on Radio 3 and ask members of the public to vote online for an overall winner.

Things to note:
– The Radio 3 Carol Competition is open to non-professional composers in the UK. Anyone can enter, no matter what their level of experience. You don’t need to have had any special musical training or need to know how to read or write music.
– Although you are welcome to submit your entry as a written score, you can also choose to submit a recording of your carol. If you submit a recording, it must feature your voice singing the words of the first verse so we can hear how your melody fits with the poem. The only people that will hear your recording are our producers and the judges.
– Unlike previous years’ competitions, this year we are asking you to compose a melody line only. The melody should be the same for every verse, so you only need to submit one verse. If you submit a carol with harmonies and/or accompaniments, or with different tunes for different verses, these elements will not be taken into consideration by the judges.

See link below for further details.