Our 2025 program will take place from July 7–18 on the Temple University main campus in Philadelphia, PA.

Composers in our 2025 will program engage in daily seminars, take composition lessons, learn from experts about compositional topics like film scoring and writing with text, and workshop their compositions with professional performers.

All composers will have the opportunity to write a new piece that will be professionally premiered and recorded on the last day of the program. Students who live on campus also have opportunities to use the music labs and practice rooms in Presser Hall during off hours.

Composers may commute to campus or live in dorm housing for the duration of the program.

  • No fee to apply

  • No prior composition experience or training necessary

  • Dorm housing and meals available

  • Join a growing alumni network & become eligible for Wildflower-sponsored commissions and performances (read more on our resources page)

  • Financial aid (including full scholarships) available!

Our 2025 faculty includes composers Melissa Dunphy, Sepehr Pirasteh, and Cerulean Payne-Passmore, the Bergamot Quartet, and several guest composers and artists.

Questions? Contact us: erin@wildflowercomposers.org.

We are thrilled to collaborate with the Bergamot Quartet this summer!

All 2025 students will have the opportunity to compose a new piece for the full quartet or a subset.

Eligibility

Our festival is open to any female, transgender, nonbinary, or genderqueer student who is between the ages of 13 and 19.

Applicants do not need to have any prior composition experience or training to attend! Students must be able to read music (at least one clef) to attend.

Composers who have just graduated from high school but have not yet started a four-year college are eligible. Composers who have already started a degree program at a four-year college are not eligible, but are encouraged to check out our Virtual Mini-Courses, which have no age maximum. Those who are taking courses at a community college and are within the age range are invited to apply.

Still not sure if you’re eligible? Send us an email.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Tuition for 2025 is $900. Financial aid (including full scholarships) are available.

We are able to provide some level of financial aid to any student in need, including full tuition and housing scholarships.

Please do not let the cost of tuition deter you from applying! There will be an option to request financial assistance in the general application. Please note that housing scholarships are reserved for students who do not live within driving distance of Philadelphia.

There is no fee to apply to the Wildflower Composers Festival.

Housing

Students can commute to and from campus, or opt to live in the dorms for the duration of the program.

Commuters and overnight students alike are welcome to participate in our 2025 festival! There is an additional $1,400 charge for room and board. This includes all meals during the festival.

Chaperones will accompany students between buildings at all times. We are able to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies.

At the Wildflower Composers Festival, participants will experience the following:

1

Mentor–mentee relationship with a private composition teacher.

2

The chance to have a new work rehearsed and premiered by a professional musician.

3

Expand your knowledge of composition and related topics through workshops led by experts.

4

Join a growing community of young composers from all across the country.