Opportunities

Thompson Street Opera Company 2026-2027 Call for Scores

Thompson Street Opera Company (TSOC) announces our Call for Scores for our 2026–2027 season! We are currently holding an open call for scores for our two productions, loosely planned for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. Beginning in our upcoming season, a $500 honorarium will be offered for each programmed work. If the work has a libretto by a living writer, this honorarium will be evenly divided between the two creators. We are now accepting works with amplification and/or live electronics! That being said, if a separate person is needed to operate the electronic elements, that person is included in the limit of 5 instrumentalists. 

Common Resonance 2026 Call for Scores

Common Resonance, a site-specific new music concert series in New York City, is pleased to announce an international call for scores. The selected work will be presented by violin and cello performers as part of Common Resonance’s March 2026 program, coinciding with the opening of visual artist Szelit Cheung’s exhibition at Fou Gallery. The program will explore the dialogue between music and visual art, with particular attention to Cheung’s minimalistic and architectural meditations on light and shadow. Composers are invited to submit works that reflect and complement this theme, embracing resonance, space, and interaction between sound and visual form.

San Francisco Choral Artists New Voices Project Call for Scores

The New Voices Project (NVP) is SFCA’s annual competition for composers under 30. Initiated in 2005, the aim is to encourage the next generation of composers to write music for chamber choir. The winner receives a $500 cash prize, 3 performances of the winning work on one of our concert sets in May and June 2026 in San Francisco, CA, and a professional-quality recording.

OurSong Atlanta 25th Anniversary Choral Commission Competition

OurSong: The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chorus invites composers of all backgrounds to participate in our 25th-anniversary Choral Commission Competition. We seek submissions for  “ALCHEMY: FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY,” a seven-movement song cycle celebrating, through music, the rich stories of the LGBTQIA+ community through history to our modern day. Participants are encouraged to create narratives that reflect this theme with flexibility in storytelling and musical composition. The winning composer will receive $2500 per movement, two complimentary tickets to the premiere in Atlanta in Spring 2027.  

The George State University School of Music Composition Assistantship

The George State University School of Music invites applications for our Master of Music Composition program. We anticipate one assistantship available for next academic year. This assistantship comes with a tuition fee waiver and a stipend of $4000 for the 2026/27 year. The successful candidate for this assistantship will aid the Composition/Theory Area in areas including (but not limited to) music theory and instrumentation/orchestration (10 hours per week).

Random Access Music Composition Competition

Random Access Music (RAM) and the Queens New Music Festival sees new concert music for trio (clarinet, cello, piano). The RAM Players will perform the winning composition(s), judged by our RAM panel, at RAM’s Queens New Music Festival held in Queens, NY. Festival dates: May, 2026. RAM is proud to continue our tradition of a no-fee, anonymous Composition Competition. There are no age, gender, or geographic limitations as to who may submit a score. A facilitator receives the scores and presents them anonymously to a panel of judges comprised of the composer and performer members of RAM. All recording rights do to the composer and RAM. 

2026 Emerging Composers Intensive at Hidden Valley

The Emerging Composers Intensive at Hidden Valley (June 26–July 5, 2026) brings together 10 composers ages 18–31 for a festival of creative collaboration. Guided by renowned composition and performance faculty, participants develop new chamber works which are professionally rehearsed, performed, and recorded in scenic Carmel Valley, CA. In-person events are preceded by a spring virtual session with private lessons and seminars with the faculty. Composition Faculty include: Alistair Coleman, Amy Beth Kirsten, Steven Mackey, and Sarah Kirkland Snider. The 2026 program cost is $2,325 (includes tuition for the entire virtual and in-person program, and room/board).

Ravinia Festival Bridges Composition Competition

The Bridges Composition Competition invites emerging composers from around the world to bring fresh, creative perspectives to the intersection of jazz and classical music. Composers craft new works for string quartet and jazz combo, exploring the rich connections between these genres. Up to three winners are selected annually to receive the David Baker Prize, which includes a $2,500 cash prize, round-trip travel to the Steans Institute at Ravinia Festival, a week of mentorship with Steans Jazz Program directors to refine the winning works (June 4 – 9, 2026), and a premiere performance of their pieces at Ravinia (June 10, 2026).

The Basel Academy of Music Only Connect Call for Scores

The Basel Academy of Music FHNW, Classic proposes revitalizing this tradition of orchestrating songs. It is holding a competition for young composers and arrangers of any nationality, aged 28 or less as of 31 December 2025 , their task being to orchestrate between three and five songs by Clara Schumann to create a coherent cycle for soprano voice with orchestral accompaniment. Participants may orchestrate these songs as standalone pieces or may create a continuous musical text by inserting transitions or interludes between the songs; in this latter case, they may also incorporate other music by Clara Schumann (from any genre). The winning composition will be premiered in 2027, and the selected composer will receive travel and lodging accommodations. 

Opera Lucca Composers Institute

Opera Lucca Composers Institute is a two-week summer program in Lucca, Italy (June 6–21, 2026), led by acclaimed composer and instructor, Dr. Raphael Fusco. Accepted students will focus on writing for the operatic voice through lessons, masterclasses, and collaborations with singers. Tuition and housing ranges from $1600–$2000, with an $950 deposit required upon acceptance.

Cambiata Arts Call for Contemporary Submissions

Cambiata Arts invites composers, sound artists, and creative musicians to submit contemporary recorded works for “Phantomnesis”, a curatorial project exploring sonic memory and cultural resonance. The call seeks pieces that explore the forgotten, the near-forgotten, and the reimagined—works that bring neglected musical systems, regional practices, extinct gestures, or overlooked aesthetic pathways into today’s listening. Selected works will be curated into a series of compilation albums released by CambiataArt Records, and all participating artists will receive tailored support and visibility through Cambiata Arts’ promotional platforms and partner networks throughout 2026.

Pennsylvania Symphonic Winds 3rd Annual Composition Contest

The Pennsylvania Symphonic Winds is now accepting applications for their 3rd Annual Composition Contest. This is open to composers of all ages. Applicants should submit a new composition of 5-10 minutes for wind band at Grade III, IV, or V level in difficulty. Winning composer will receive $500 cash prize and the premiere of their work in the Spring 2026. Additional prizes may be awarded at the judges’ discretion. 

International Choral Composers Institute

The International Choral Composers Institute (ICCI) is a 5-day immersive program dedicated to nurturing & instructing choral composers and lyricists of all levels and ages (adults 18 and up) while connecting them with real-world editors and publishers. Explore key aspects of choral composition, including setting text, getting published, lyric writing, and more. All classes will be during the day from 9-5 (EDT), and evenings will be reserved for creating, socializing/collaborating with other composers, and dining. A virtual option is also offered. Participants in the Reading Sessions category will have their work read or performed on the Final Concert Sunday June 28 in Charlotte, NC. 

Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra Composition Competition

The APO exists to enrich the lives of artists and audience members through music. An important aspect of our work is providing visibility and exposure to artists and composers from underrepresented groups. The composition contest is an opportunity for emerging composers to have their piece performed for a live audience by the APO during our regular season concerts.

New Bassoon Institute Call for Scores

The faculty of the NewBassoon Institute, consisting of some of the nation’s leading bassoonists, seeks to select a composer to commission a new work for bassoon quartet. The newly-written work will be premiered during the 2026 New Bassoon Institute, held June 8-14 at Appalachian State University. $750 cash prize. 

Zicato Music Call for Scores

Submit your original work for string orchestra to Zicato Music! One winner will receive an exclusive two-year sheet music distribution deal and an all-expenses-paid recording of their work with a prominent European scoring orchestra! The winning composer will: 1) Receive full buyout rights to an all-expenses-paid live recording of their music with a professional European scoring orchestra; 2) Have their work’s sheet music professionally printed and distributed by Zicato Music; 3) Retain all copyrights and performance/mechanical royalties to their music; 4) Receive the majority of their work’s sheet music royalties.

The Horizon Ensemble Call for Scores

The Horizon Ensemble is excited to announce our second Call for Scores! We are accepting submissions for an orchestral piece of 8-15 minutes, which will be performed live on May 31, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts in the northeast United States of America. This piece will be included in our concert, “Bridges,” with music by Ruth Hertzman-Miller, Julian Gau, and Frank Bridge, featuring music about bridges: the Harvard Bridge, bridges between people, and Frank Bridge.The Horizon Ensemble can cover up to $150 for travel to the live concert performance. We’re excited for another voice to be part of it!

2026 Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize

The Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is proud to administer the Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize, a biannual wind ensemble/concert band composition contest. This highly successful and nationally renowned series is funded by the gracious support of the Ithaca College administration, alumni, and generous friends of the institution.

CGNJ Commissioning Competition for New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra

The Composers Guild of New Jersey announces a commissioning opportunity for New Jersey composers to write a new 5-7 minute piece for string quartet for performance and recording by members of the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra (NBCO) in the spring of 2026. Any composer who currently lives, works, or studies in New Jersey may apply. One composer will be chosen jointly by CGNJ and the NBCO from among all applicants and given $1,000 on delivery of the score and parts. The commissioned piece must engage with an element of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

Texas Tech University Electronic Nights Call for Multichannel Works

The School of Music at Texas Tech University invites composers to submit multichannel electroacoustic works (4-channel) for Electronic Nights Nr.6 and Nr.7 in Spring 2026. These concerts celebrate the art of space in sound, focusing on how music unfolds in and interacts with its acoustic environment. If your piece has been selected in previous Electronic Nights, please do not resubmit the same work. Previously premiered works are welcome; ensure you hold the necessary rights. Participation/attendance is optional; our team will handle all playback on site at Texas Tech University. We are waiting for your amazing pieces!