The 48th Festival of New American Music Call for Scores is open to composers of any age. Applicants must reside in the United States, Mexico or Canada. International students on student visas and studying at Colleges and Universities in the US may also apply. The competition is judged by composition faculty and ensemble directors at the California State University, Sacramento School of Music as well as by nationally and internationally recognized festival guest composers. The winning pieces in each category will receive a performance at the 2025 Festival of New American Music (November 2-8, 2025).

Eligibility:

Open to composers of any age. Applicants must reside in the United States, Mexico or Canada. International students on student visas and studying at Colleges and Universities in the US may also apply.

Instrumentation:

Category A (Four Corners Ensemble) : Submitted works may be scored for any subset to the full instrumentation of flute (doubles piccolo and alto flute), clarinet (A and Eb clarinets), violin, cello, and piano. One work will be selected and performed by the resident ensemble, Four Corners Ensemble.

Category B (Saxophone): Submitted works must be scored for any of the following instrumentations: Solo Saxophone, Saxophone and Piano, Saxophone Duo (two Saxophones), Piano Trio (2 Saxophones with Piano), Solo Saxophone with Fixed Media, and Saxophone Duo with Fixed Media. One work will be selected and performed by the resident artist and saxophonist, Carrie Koffman and other guest artists.

Category C (Chorus): Submitted works must be scored for mixed choir in 4-6 parts, with moderate divisi, with keyboard accompaniment. One winning work will be performed by Sacramento State University Chorale with director Brett Judson.

Category D (Wind Ensemble): Submitted works should be scored for standard wind band instrumentation (Piccolo, Flute 1.2, Oboe 1.2, Bassoon 1.2, Bb Clarinet 1.2.3, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax 1.2, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Trumpet 1.2.3, Horn 1.2.3.4, Trombone 1.2.3 (bass), Euphonium, Tuba, Double Bass, Precision (5 players). One winning work will be performed by Sacramento State Symphonic Wind Ensemble with director Matthew Morse.

Length:

Compositions may not exceed 10 minutes in length.

Materials for Submission:

Applications will only be accepted via this link. The Application Form will allow up to four works submission (one work for each category).

Composers must include the following materials:

  • Full score (PDF format only, do not include parts)
  • Audio recording of the piece (MP3 preferable, though MIDI rendering is acceptable)
  • Program notes
  • Entry fee receipt

Fee: $15 entry fee per work submitted. Each composer can submit up to four works in total.

Judging and award:

A panel of judges will choose four winning compositions from four categories. All winning compositions will be performed at the 2025 Festival of New American Music (November 2-8, 2025), at Sacramento State School of Music. In addition, each winner will get a $300 award. It is strongly preferred that the composers be present at the Festival. However, the committee cannot guarantee financial support towards airfare and accommodation for travel arrangements.

Deadline:

Submissions must be time-stamped by 11:59pm PST on July 15, 2025. Winners will be announced by August 20, 2025. All parts are due by August 31, 2025.

Please direct all inquiries to shuying.li@csus.edu.