The University of Louisville School of Music is pleased to announce the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition 2026. The University will offer an international prize in recognition of outstanding achievement by a living composer in a large musical genre: choral, orchestral, chamber, electronic, song cycle, dance, opera, music theater, extended solo work, etc. The award will be granted for a work premiered during the five-year period between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024. Nominated works should be of the highest quality, originality, and exhibit the power of ideas. The amount of the award to the composer will be a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00). The University of Louisville invites the submission of scores by outstanding composers throughout the world regardless of age, nationality, gender, race and sexual orientation. The following rules and procedures for its selection of the winning work are:
1. Each entry for the Grawemeyer Music Award must be nominated by a professional musical organization or individual (examples would include performer or performing group, conductor, critic, publisher, or head of a professional music school or department). A composer may not submit their own work. No more than one work of any composer may be submitted, and entries from previous winners of this award will not be considered.
2. Each entry must include the following materials. Please upload text documents, images, and media files in the formats listed within the form. Scores must be sent via mail to the Grawemeyer Music Award.
– One bound copy of the full score. This is the only item to be physically sent to the Grawemeyer Music Award at the address provided below. (For works with non-English text, it is recommended that an English translation or English synopsis be submitted.)
Grawemeyer Music Award
School of Music
University of Louisville
2301 S. 3rd Street
Louisville, KY 40292 USA
– One excellent quality recording of the complete work (MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4P, MOV). For multi-movement works, you may upload a single .zip file containing all the movements. Please omit tuning, opening applause, spoken commentary such as radio interviews or conductor’s remarks, or any other extraneous material at the beginning or end of the audio files. Video should only be uploaded if the work includes a significant visual component.
– Documentation of the premiere public performance of the work between 1/1/2020 and 12/31/2024 (PDF). A radio broadcast or sound recording does not constitute a premiere. The program from the premiere performance is preferred. However, if this is not available, another form of documentation, such as a published review, or a newspaper or magazine article, will be accepted. Only one form of documentation should be included. Works may be resubmitted during the period of eligibility.
– Program notes and texts/libretto (if applicable) in English or with English translation (PDF).
– Supporting letter in English from the nominator of the entry (PDF), which must state nominator’s relation to the submitted work and nominator’s belief in the outstanding qualities of the work.
– Composer’s photograph: high-res digital file (JPG, PNG, or TIFF).
– Composer’s biography in English (PDF), which should briefly outline the composer’s total achievement and recognition
– Completed online nomination form in English
– Non-refundable handling fee of fifty dollars ($50.00 in U.S. currency). Payment must be made online via credit card. Please follow instructions provided in the online nomination form. Only Visa and Mastercard are accepted.
– In the case of re-submission, entrants need not resubmit scores as these will be retrieved from the Grawemeyer Collection of Contemporary Music; however, all other required materials must be resubmitted, and the handling fee paid.
– Please send only materials requested. Do not include press kits, reviews, articles, recordings of other works, etc.
3. If the work is a resubmission from a previous year, you may still upload a new recording and send a new score, but may opt to not provide a recording and score and instead use the score and recording from the Grawemeyer Collection of Contemporary Music.
4. Completed nominations for the Grawemeyer Award must reach the University of Louisville by January 28, 2025. The University of Louisville will acknowledge receipt of all nominations by email only. Please allow a month after the deadline for such notification. Late or incomplete nominations will not be considered.
5. The winning composer will be notified in October 2025. The public announcement will be made on or around December 1, 2025, and the award will be made during March or April 2026.
6. The University of Louisville will retain all entered scores and recorded materials for inclusion in the Grawemeyer Collection of Contemporary Music, a part of the Dwight Anderson Memorial Music Library.
7. No payment will be made to the estate or heirs of a deceased composer
Online Nomination Portal:
https://grawemeyermusicaward.org