Opportunities

Huntsville Youth Orchestra’s Annual Young Composers Forum Call for Orchestral Scores & Residency

The Huntsville Youth Orchestra is now accepting submissions for their Annual Young Composers Forum at the Tennessee Valley Music Festival, June 7–13, 2026 in Huntsville, Alabama. Winning submissions will be rehearsed daily and performed by the TVMF Festival Orchestra at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville, AL. Composers will also participate in a variety of sessions hosted by TVMF Resident Composer Robert J. Bradshaw. 

Seventh Annual Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize

The Henri Lazarof Living Legacy at Brandeis University announces the Seventh Annual Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize for the composition of an original work for select instruments. The specific instrumentation will change annually to complement an existing work by Henri Lazarof, and the commissioned piece will be performed alongside Lazarof’s work. Instrumentation for the 2026 prize commission will be a string quintet (2 violins, 2 violas, cello). Electronic music components and/or multimedia may also be included. The winner will be awarded a $15,000 commission prize, and the winning composition will be performed at Brandeis University in the spring of 2027.

Visitng Assistant Professor or Instructor of Composition at Carleton College

The Department of Music at Carleton College invites applications for the position of Visiting Assistant Professor or Instructor of Composition, beginning September 1, 2026, and serving Fall Term 2026 (September-November) and Winter Term 2027 (January-March). We seek a composer working with music notation (broadly defined), music/sound creation software and programming environments, and experience teaching these practices to undergraduates in a liberal arts setting. We invite candidates with or working towards a PhD or DMA in Composition, Music Technology, or a related field, with preference for a degree conferred before the term of service begins. Salary ranges from $49,200 – $52,460. 

Rocky Mountain Chamber Choir 2026 Call for Scores

The Rocky Mountain Chamber Choir invites composers to participate in our 2026 Call for Compositions, celebrating the power of poetry brought to life through choral music. This year’s competition centers around six selected poems, each offering its own world of imagery, rhythm, and emotion and composers are encouraged to choose one of these texts as the basis for an original choral setting. Our aim is to introduce fresh text to the choral repertoire; these poems are an ideal place to begin, though composers may also us an alternative public-domain text that has not been set, or has been set only very rarely, in choral music.

2026 Murdock International Piano Competition Call for Scores

The Oregon Piano Institute seeks a new solo piano work to be performed by the three finalists of the Murdock International Piano Competition. The selected piece (5–7 minutes) will receive its world premiere October 10, 2026; winner receives $1,500. Works that have already premiered or that require extended techniques are not eligible. The winning score will be distributed to the eight semifinalists one month before the competition. This call is open to composers of all ages and nationalities.

Princeton Brass Band Inaugural Composition Competition

Princeton Brass Band announces their inaugural Composition Competition. Princeton Brass Band seeks new works for brass band from composers ages 18 and up. Winner receives $500 and their work premiered during the 2026-2027 season in Central New Jersey. Travel stipend unavailable.

ELECTROWAVE Electroacoustic Music Festival 2026 Call for Scores

ELECTROWAVE, the Rocky Mountain Electroacoustic Music Festival hosted at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), seeks original electroacoustic works from composers living in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming or Utah for a “FRONT RANGE WAVES” Special Feature Concert during the 2026 ELECTROWAVE Festival, taking place March 6-8 at the Ent Center for the Arts on the UCCS campus.

Fivemind Reeds 2026 Call for Scores

Fivemind Reeds is proud to announce their 2026 Call for Scores! Composers of any nationality, any age, and at any stage of their career are invited to submit works for reed quintet (oboe/English horn, Bb clarinet, saxophone/also saxophone, bassoon, bass clarinet) for consideration for a featured spot in Fivemind Reeds 2026/27 season.

Composers Concordance 15th Annual Composition Competition

Composers Concordance, a presenting organization for contemporary music with a 42-year history of cutting-edge concert programming in NYC, announces its 15th Annual ‘Generations’ concert and composition competition. The program will feature music of Lynn Bechtold, Dan Cooper, Gilbert Galindo, Howie Kenty, Lukas Ligeti, Joseph Pehrson, Gene Pritsker, Will Rowe, and Maria Tegzes, as well as two competition winners: one composer age 25 or younger, and another composer age 65 or older. Competition winners are requested to attend the concert, which will be held on Saturday, March 21st, 2026 at 6:30pm at The Stonewall Inn: 53 Christopher Street, New York City. Inability to attend the concert will not disqualify entrants, and virtual attendance is possible.

NuovoSound Ensemble 2026 Inaugural Call for Scores

The NuovoSound Ensemble is thrilled to announce our inaugural call for scores, with the winning scores to be performed at our free Spring 2026 concert on April 26th, 2026, to be held at the Robert Carr Chapel in Fort Worth, TX. For our upcoming Spring 2026 concert, we desire to perform three (3) works by living and emerging composers based anywhere in the world. For this call, we will select two (2) winners who are currently pursuing or intending to pursue a bachelors, masters, or doctoral degree in music at any accredited institution, and additionally (1) winner who has not yet begun higher education (e.g., still in High School).

Arizona Flute Society 2026 Composition Competition

The Arizona Flute Society is currently accepting submissions for their 2026 Composition Competition. This year’s competition is open to works for solo flute, flute and piano, or flute and electronics (electronics may be fixed or live). Submissions may include works for C flute, piccolo, alto flute, and bass flute. There is no duration requirement, and works may be new or previously existing The competition is open to composers of all ages and nationalities. The winner will receive $250 and will be featured on the AFS website and social media platforms. The composer will retain all other rights to their composition, and all performance and recording rights will revert back to the composer 1 year after the date of the winner’s announcement.

Sounbox Ventures Residency Call for Scores

Soundbox Ventures seeks scores for solo or small chamber ensemble of short works around or under 10 minutes recently completed or already premiered for a CD recording as part of a residency in Shanghai, China from August 1–14, 2026. The theme of the CD is a multi-volume “diary of glimpses in Shanghai” featuring the experimentation and voices of each composer participant. The residency in Shanghai includes rehearsals with performers, mentorship sessions, seminars on portfolio development and professional practice, and professional audio/video documentation culminating in a professionally released CD in China. Tuition is $3,000; need-based tuition financial aid is available with possibility of full scholarship.

Cincinnati Camerata’s Kummer Award for Composition

Cincinnati Camerata invites composers of any age or nationality to submit an original work to our annual choral composition competition. Our newly renamed Cincinnati Camerata’s Kummer Award for Composition honors the late Stan Kummer, whose family has generously offered to sponsor the competition to continue his legacy of support for enriching musical outlets like Camerata. The winner will receive a cash prize of $500.

The NMGCS V International Composition Competition

The National Music & Global Culture Society (New York) announces the NMGCS V International Composition Competition to recognize outstanding new full-scale musical works inspired by Azerbaijani folk songs. First prize receives $2,000; second prize receives $1,000; and third prize receives $500. All winners receive a certificate of excellence and a performance of their work at the Lincoln Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium in New York, USA.

Chicago a capella HerVoice Competition and Mentorship Program

Chicago a cappella seeks submissions for HerVoice, a competition and mentorship program for women composers. A partnership the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, this opportunity is open to composers of all ages who self-identify as female, from anywhere in the world. Women composers whose career is in its early stages and women composers of color are particularly encouraged to apply. The winners will each receive a $500 stipend for work with mentors and ensemble.

Juventas New Music Ensemble

Juventas is seeking chamber works, for a program centered on immigrant stories. This theme may be interpreted in the broadest sense, including both contemporary narratives and ancestral journeys. Submitted scores may utilize any combination of the following instruments: soprano voice, flute, clarinet, horn, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, percussion, piano. 1–4 applicants will be selected and have their work premiered in Fall 2026 in Cambridge, MA. $15 application fee per submitted work. 

Impulse New Music Festival 2026 Composition Summer Program

Impulse New Music Festival seeks collegiate to early-career composers to apply for its 2026 summer program. Selected composers will write a new work for one of our Festival Chamber Trios or ensemble-in-residence, Brightwork (pierrot + percussion), study with composition faculty, work directly with musicians of the assigned ensemble, and have their work premiered at the 2026 Festival Concert. Tuition is $2,450 for the full summer program, $950 for the study program. Limited scholarship support may be available. 

soundSCAPE Composition and Performance Exchange

soundSCAPE Composition and Performance Exchange gathers early-career participants and world-class faculty artists in Blonay, Switzerland to support young composers through the commissioning and performance of their works. Students of all backgrounds and nationalities are encouraged to apply. Open to composers, performers, and sound engineers ages 18 years and up. Come study with our faculty of contemporary artists at the top of their field in a warm and welcoming creative environment at the Hindemith Music Centre. The 2026 Festival runs from July 1–10, 2026. Tuition is $1,600; accommodation fees available. 

Chineke! 2026-2027 Composer in Residence

Chineke! is looking to appoint their inaugural Composer-in-Residence for the 2026/27 season to work with the orchestra and further their long-standing commitment to commissioning new music by Black and ethnically diverse composers. The resident will receive commissions for at least 3 new works for chamber ensemble and symphony orchestra over the course of the season and have their music performed and championed by Chineke! through the course of the residency and beyond. 

MacDowell 2026-2027 Artist Residencies

Since its founding in 1907, MacDowell has imbued its spaces with a deep and abiding respect for artists and their creative work. In the 21st century, this fundamental kindness is sustained by the curiosity, generosity, and goodwill circulating within the resident community. MacDowell encourages applications from artists representing the widest possible range of perspectives and demographics. Fellowships are two to eight weeks and for composers includes a private studio with baby grand piano, housing, and three meals per day. Studios are comfortably furnished with the artists’ needs in mind. Artists are responsible for materials and travel expenses: financial assistance is available to artists in residence based on demonstrated financial need. Applications open on January 15.