Winners! - Tune Writing Competition 2025…

The Dorset Fiddlers are delighted to announce the winners of our inaugural 2025 Tune Writing Competition:  Weymouth's Jig by Lise Lelandais and AFC Bournemouth by Jo Coldicott Dalene. 

We're incredibly privileged to showcase the work of two talented musicians and composers. Stay tuned for our spring and summer concerts where we'll be debuting these tunes in new arrangements.

Our heartfelt thanks to all applicants - it was a pleasure to play through your creations and keep up the tune writing!

About the Tunes and the Composers …

Weymouth's Jig by Lise Lelandais 

Lise lives near Dieppe, just across the Channel and often enjoys walking along the waterfront and watching the boats. She composed this melody while imagining herself strolling along the quays, feeling the sea breeze, hearing sailors whistling, and seeing ships ready to set sail. Although she has never been to Dorset, photos of Weymouth matched the atmosphere she wanted to evoke through her composition.

She studied the violin since childhood, attending the Rouen School of Music and Rouen Conservatory. Lise later took a break from her musical journey to focus on medical studies and become a doctor. As soon as her profession allowed her more free time, Lise reconnected with her lifelong passion for music.

Lise has been composing music since the age of fourteen or fifteen. Her works are very diverse: French and English pop songs, as well as more classical instrumental pieces (symphonic poems, chamber music, piano pieces). She has participated in several music composition competitions and has received various awards:

• Silver Prize at the Berlioz International Competition 2024 (Season 3) for a symphonic poem titled Lumière bleue;
• Silver Prize at the Francesca Lebrun International Competition 2024 (Season 3) for a violin and piano waltz titled Valse des farfadets;
• Gold Prize at the Brahms International Online Competition (October 2025) for a piano sonata titled Promenade dans le Marais

Lise loves film music – especially John Williams – and her instrumental compositions often resemble film scores. Lise writes ‘I try to create atmospheres, evoke landscapes, or capture suspended moments’. Her current goals are ‘to meet musicians, develop collaborations and partnerships to bring my artistic creations to life, and work with other artists to explore new worlds and embark on beautiful musical adventures. I am always seeking to learn and deepen my musical universe’.

If you’d like to hear more of Lise’s work, please explore the following links:

• Lise’s website: www.sansatout.fr. 
• Lise’s YouTube channel: @SansAtout-v4q

AFC Bournemouth by Jo Coldicott Dalene

Jo is originally from Somerset but now lives in Norway. She works as an organist in Fet church, Lillestrøm commune and is also the musical director for Lillestrøm chamber choir. She has been inspired by folk music from Norway and loves to play folk music on the organ too. Every January she organises a ceilidh/barn dance in her little village which Norwegians and expats really enjoy.

Jo has composed music for choirs, piano and organ, as well as other instruments, winning various composition prizes as well as a commission for the Sacred Music Society in Norway. AFC Bournemouth tune was inspired by the idea of mixing folk music with football, and the name of the club was perfect for translating into the opening melody (using the notes AFCB). This is a technique Jo has employed before to compose new material, inluding a piece for her mother's 60th birthday. 

If you’d like to hear more of Jo’s work, please explore the following links:

• Christmas Hymn, ‘Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming / A Great and Mighty Wonder’ for Choir and Organ, performed in Stavanger Cathedral: https://youtu.be/-eVN3OP-OB8 and is available for purchase from https://butikk.sang.no/produkt/lo-how-a-rose/
• Piano Quintet for In Dulci Jubilo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXTX_euGmXk