Cantus Commission Competition

Following the success of our Young and Emerging Composer Competition, we are thrilled to announce an evolution to the program! Moving forward as the Cantus Commission Competition, this initiative provides mentorship to an emerging composer of any age or nationality chosen to write a commissioned work for Cantus and the broader community of tenor/bass choirs.

Cantus first began with four low-voiced undergraduate students. They had passion, vision, and a desire to contribute meaningfully to the musical community. In our 2024-2025 season, we are celebrating those student roots by providing an exciting opportunity to commission an emerging composer for a new work for tenor/bass choir. We also look forward to providing the selected composer with feedback from the entire ensemble and a tailored mentorship program with a selected Cantus artist during the writing of the new work.

The winner will receive a $1,500 commission fee to write a new work for Cantus (likely 3-5 minutes in length). In contrast to prior iterations of the competition, applicants will provide a set of works representing their current catalog, compositional voice, and experience writing for voices. Note that it is not a requirement to have written for choir or the voice before.

Applications must be submitted electronically by January 1, 2025.