The American Composers Forum (ACF) champions composers and other creative music makers, and boosts their careers with professional opportunities. ACF | create is an evolution of the Jerome Fund for New Music (JFund), which started in 1979. Through this program, ACF has made hundreds of awards and has helped launch many careers. ACF | create supports the creation, presentation, and subsequent life of a new work. Five grants are available: up to $8,000 for the composer or primary artist’s time to create the work, and up to $3,000 to help with production and promotion support. This program is for early career artists that reside in Minnesota or the five boroughs of New York City.
The American Composers Forum encourages applicants from the full range of musical approaches and perspectives, and is committed to supporting a diverse pool of artists whose work demonstrates strong artistic merit. Accordingly, awards for our programs will represent, as far as possible, artists and projects that are diverse in creative methodology, gender, race, ethnicity and geography.
Current Participants
The panel of curators who selected this year’s awardees included Byron Au Yong (Palm Springs, CA), Joseph Jones (Bonita Springs, FL), Stefon BIONIK Taylor (Minneapolis, MN), and Leaha Maria Villarreal (Los Angeles, CA).





Annie Blythe–Photo by Whitney George; Sarina Patridge–Photo by Ted Hall; Megumi Saruhashi–Photo by SnapKyoto; Sound Sovereign/Brown–Screenshot taken from video courtesy of Joe’s Pub; Chris Williams–Photo by Katherine Pekala
ACF | create supports the creation and presentation of new works and is an evolution of the Jerome Fund for New Music (JFund), which started in 1979. Through this program, ACF has supported the creation of hundreds of new works. This program is for music creators who are in the early stages of their creative development and are vocational artists that are residents of Minnesota or the five boroughs of New York City and have been residents for at least one year prior to application or program participation. Five commissions totaling $11,000.00 are available: for each award $8,000.00 is designated for the music creator’s time to create the work, and $3,000.00 is designated to help with production and promotion support.
This year’s panel consists of:




The 2023 application is now closed. Selected awardees will be announced in July 2023.
2021 PARTICIPANTS
The curators for this round of ACF | create were Daniel de Jesús (Philadelphia, PA), Mike Khoury (Detroit, MI), Amy Beth Kirsten (New Haven, CT), and Viola Yip (New York, NY).





Sonya Belaya photo credit Alex Brown; Pablo Santiago Chin Photo credit Marc Perlish; Renée Copeland Photo credit Renée Copeland; Vicente Hansen Atria Photo credit Kyra Smith; Alicia Waller Photo by Shay Paresh
2019/2020 Participants
The panelists for this round of ACF | create were composers Nicolas Lell Benavides (Los Angeles, CA), Theron Brown (Akron, OH), and Lisa Renée Coons (Kalamazoo, MI).





Anaïs Maviel photo credit Dar Es Salaam Riser; Mary Prescott Photo credit Erika Kapin; Sugar Vendil photo credit Michael Leviton
2018 Participants
The panelists for this round of ACF | Create commissions were composers HyeKyung Lee (Granville, OH), Ingrid Stölzel (Lawrence, KS), and Michael Woods (Clinton, NY).





Jerome Composers Commissioning Program/Jerome Fund for New Music Winners
2017 Participant

Queens, NY

Minneapolis, MN

New York, NY

Minneapolis, MN

Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY

Saint Paul, MN

Brooklyn, NY

New York, NY
2016 Participant

Eagan, MN

New York, NY

Northfield, MN

Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY

Minneapolis, MN

Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY

New York, NY

Brooklyn, NY
2015
New York
- Saad Haddad (New York, NY) with the American Composers Orchestra
- Sean Harold (New York, NY) with Suzanne Farrin
- Clara Hunter Latham (New York, NY) with Peter Evans, Sam Pluta, Michael Weyandt, and Alice Teyssier
- Remy Le Boeuf (Brooklyn, NY) with Bang on a Can
- Shih-Wei Lo (New York, NY) with Nieuw Ensemble
- Sky Macklay (New York, NY) with ICE
- Anthony Vine (Brooklyn, NY) with Yarn/Wire
Minnesota
- James G. Everest (St. Paul, MN) with Lake Joanna Interpretive Center
- Yue Lor (Blaine, MN) with Blaine High School Band Program
- Tiffany Skidmore (St. Paul, MN) with the Nautilus Music Theatre
Panelists
- Meg Okura
- David Smooke
- Melinda Wagner
2014
New York
- Justine F. Chen (New York, NY) with American Lyric Theatre
- Jeff Fairbanks (Sunnyside, NY) with Gamin
- Anne Goldberg (New York, NY) with Andrew Kozar
- Molly Joyce (New York, NY) with Vicky Chow
- Paul Kerekes (New York, NY) with Trevor Babb
- Levy Lorenzo (Brooklyn, NY) with Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble
- Jessica Meyer (Bronx, NY) with The Colonials
- Max Vernon (Brooklyn, NY) with Public Theatre
- Tamara Yadao (Brooklyn, NY) with Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts Festival
Minnesota
- Zack Baltich (Minneapolis, MN) with Fallout Music Co-op
- Kari Musil (St. Paul, MN) with Pip Jazz Foundation
- Natalie Nowytski (Minneapolis, MN) with Laurel Armstrong
Panelists
- Kristin Kuster
- Vinny Golia
- Mari Kimura
2013
New York
- Troy Herion (Brooklyn, NY)
- Shawn Jaeger (New York, NY)
- Jascha Narveson (Brooklyn, NY)
- Gity Razaz (Brooklyn, NY)
- Erin Rogers (Brooklyn, NY)
- Conrad Winslow (Brooklyn, NY)
- Gabriel Zucker (Brooklyn, NY)
Minnesota
- Greg Brosofske (Minneapolis, MN)
- Alexei Casselle (Minneapolis, MN)
- John Keston (Minneapolis, MN)
- Kathy McTavish (Duluth, MN)
Panelists
- Dorothy Hindman
- Suphala
- Darryl Brenzel
2012
New York
- Jeremy Howard Beck (New York, NY)
- Chris Cresswell (Brooklyn, NY)
- Masatora Goya (Rego Park, NY)
- David Hertzberg (New York, NY)
- Eric Nathan (New York, NY)
- Danielle Schwob (New York, NY)
Minnesota
- Christopher Danforth (Minneapolis, MN)
- Alex Freeman (Northfield, MN)
- Asako Hirabayashi (Falcon Heights, MN)
- Heath Mathews (Farmington, MN)
Panelists
- Paul Elwood
- Asha Srinivasan
- Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate
2011
New York
- Olga Bell
- Daniel Blake
- Ryan Carter
- Christopher Cerrone
- Trevor Gureckis
- Mary Kouyoumdjian
- Ruben Naeff
- Christopher Trapani
Minnesota
- Joshua Clausen
- Noah Keesecker
- Joshua Musikantow
- Tiffany Skidmore
Panelists
- Anthony Curtis Davis
- Don Davis
- Anna E. Hinkle-Turner
2010
New York
- Michael Gilberston
- Joel Harrison
- Matthew Steckler
- Max Duykers
- Joe Diebes
- Christopher Jentsch
Minnesota
- Joshua Bauder
- Linda Kachelmeier
- Tim Donahue
- Jeff Johnson
Panelists
- Neil Leonard
- Jovino Dos Santos Neto
- Jeannine Wagar
2009
New York
- Darcy James Argue
- Elizabeth Hoffman
- Neel Murgai
- Dafna Naphtali
- Gregory Spears
- Daniel Wohl
Minnesota
- Benjamin Broening
- Christopher Danforth
- Kathleen McTavish
- Chris Thomson
Panelists
- Madelyn Byrne
- P.Q. Phan
- Bill Ryan
2008
New York
- Patricia Alesandrini
- Matthew Barnson
- Philippe Bodin
- Sidiki Conde
- Judd Greenstein
- Yotam Haber
- Ha-Yang Kim
- Keith Moore
- Jeff Myers
- Hans Tammen
- Eric Wubbles
Minnesota
- Elizabeth Alexander
- Kirsten Broberg
- George Cartwright
- Jocelyn Hagen
- Jeff Herriott
- John Mallia
- Ann Millikan
- Nirmala Rajasekar
Panelists
- Sarah Cahill
- Ernest Dawkins
- James Dillon
2007
New York
- Nathan Davis
- Ryan Francis
- Joel Harrison
- Huck Hodge
- Kristin Kuster
- Missy Mazzoli
- Tamar Muskal
- Aaron Siegel
Minnesota
- Abbie Betinis
- Howard Collins
- Paul Elwood
- Douglas Geers
- Margaret Griebling-Haigh
- Art Lee
- J. David Moore
- Peter O’Gorman
Panelists
- Ken Field
- Amy X Neuberg
- Reza Vali
2006
New York
- William Brittelle
- Corey Dargel
- Michael Dellaira
- Bryce Dessner
- Kristin Norderval
- Meg Okura
- Rob Reddy
Minnesota
- Jeffrey Brooks
- Edie Hill
- Linda Kachelmeier
- Heath Mathews
- Rachel Matthews
- Mankwe Ndosi
- Doug Opel
- David Wolff
Panelists
- Lauri desMarais
- Odean Pope
- Phillip Schroeder
2005
New York
- Kati Agocs
- Annie Gosfield
- Vijay Iyer
- Rudresh Mahanthappa
- Hiroya Miura
- Sam Newsome
- Sean Noonan
Minnesota
- Marita Bolles
- Michael Croswell
- Michelle Kinney
- Ann Millikan
- Yotam Rosenbaum
Panelists
- Daniel Godfrey
- James Newton
- Dorothy Stone
2004
New York
- Glen Cortese
- Antonio Carlos DeFeo
- Vivian Fung
- Shafer Mahoney
- Robert Paterson
- Bobby Previte
- Huang Ruo
- David Weiss
Minnesota
- Shawn Allison
- Elizabeth Alexander
- Eric Barnum
- Howard Collins
- Peter O’Gorman
- Lisa Ragsdale
- Nirmala Rajasekar
- Changiun Xu
Panelists
- David Crumb
- Marjorie Merryman
- Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng
2003
New York
- Joshua Fried
- Michelle Nagai
- Moto Osada
- Lu Pei
- Jonathan Pieslak
- Spencer Schedler
- Du Yun
Minnesota
- Maura Bosch
- Geoffrey Gordon
- Michael Karmon
- Andrew Lafkas
- Dean Magraw
- Paul Rudy
- Ethan Wickman
Panelists
- Joan LaBarbara
- Zhou Long
- Yehuda Yannay
2002
- Marc Anderson
- Scott Miller
- James Syler
- Casey Hale
- Christopher Jentsch
- Basya Schechter
- Sarah Snider
- Lev Zhurbin
2001
- Doug Little
- Charlottemarie
- William Beckstrand
- John Morton
- Mark Zanter
- Todd Reynolds
- Douglas Geers
- Hayes Biggs
- Rudresh Mahanthappa
- Christian Amigo
- Yuanlin Chen
2000
- Ron George
- James Harley
- Brian Heller
- Michael Karmon
- Dan Trueman
- Preston Wright
- Steven Bryant
- Judy Dunaway
- Phil Kline
- Harold Meltzer
- Hollis Taylor
- Ushio Torikai
1999
- Mark Engebretson
- Edie Hill
- Igor Komeitchouk
- Dale McGowan
- Lior Navok
- Carl Witt
- Constance Cooper
- Gisburg
- Wang Guowei
- Jose Halac
- Dafna Naphtali
- Patrick Zimmerli
1998
- Linda Dusman
- Frank Ferko
- Anthony Gatto
- Bruce Hamilton
- John Morrison
- John Fitz Rogers
- Derek Bermel
- Chen Yuanlin
- Chien-Yin Chen
- Marilyn Kimura
- Jerome Kitzke
- Rob Reddy
- David Simmons
1997
- Ellen Band
- Gao Hong and Paul Dice
- David Reville
- Joko Sutrisno
- Vera Stanojevic
- Carei Thomas
- Tom Trenka
- Ben Allison
- Wendy-Mae Chambers
- David Claman
- Sonia Jacobsen
- Kevin James
1996
- Maura Bosch
- Sherri Flagg-McHugh
- Michael Fiday
- Phillip Fried
- Paul Higham
- Todd Winkler
- Wang Zheng-Ting
- Lisa Bielawa
- Charles Coleman
- Jonathan Elliott
- Zeena Parkins
- Behzad Ranjbaran
- Tim Rowe
- Ken Valitsky
- Terry Winters-Owens
1995
- Brent Michael Davids
- John Devine
- Linda Tutas Haugen
- Craig Harris
- Mark Hellem
- Homer Lambrecht
- Emanuel Rodriguez
- Ying Zhang
- Nick Didkovsky
- Joe Gallant
- Kitty Brazelton
- Joshua Fried
- Annie Gosfield
- Mary Jane Leach
- Gene Pritsker
- Qu Xiao-song
1994
- Michael Croswell
- Colin Franey
- Jennifer Higdon
- Bun Ching Lam
- Susan Parenti
- Russell Platt
- Chris Preissing
1993
- John Luther Adams
- Paul Dice
- Douglas Ewart
- Randall Woolf
1992
- Mark Applebaum
- Ted Fitch
- Marjorie Hess
- Joseph Klein
- Paul Siskind
- Bernadette Speach
1991
- William Lang
- Rose Brzezinski
- Nathaniel Haynes
- Judith Sainte Croix
- Bunita Marcus
1990
- Conrad DeJong
- Carl Voss
- Wes York
1989
- John Baboukis
- Bradley Bombardier
- Tina Davidson
- Greg Fish
- Miriam Gerberg
- Vinny Golia
- Charles Hoag
- Arthur Jarvinen
1988
- Michael Daugherty
- Linda Haugen
- Jennifer Holt
- Leo Kraft
- David Lang
- Steve Tibbetts
- Donald Washington
1987
- Elizabeth Clark
- Michael Gordon
- Matthew Harris
- Henry Holoien
- Michele Kinney
- Ellen Lease
- James Lovendusky
1986
- John King
- Monica Maye
- Roscoe Mitchell
- Richard Paske
- Frederick Tillis
1985
- Henry Gwiazda
- David Kechley
- Alex Lubet
- Charles McHugh
- David John Olsen
- Dan Strum
- Wendy Ultan
- Jack Vees
1984
- John Einweck
- Paul Goldstaub
- Robert Maderich
- Charlie Maguire
- Steve Rydberg
- Jeffery Vandervelde
- Thomas Wegren
- Zeitgeist
1983
- Michael Aubart
- Carl Bergmann
- Henry Brant
- Mary Ellen Childs
- Janet Gilbert
- Michael Halstenson
- Stephen Paulus
- Marjorie Rusche
- Paul Schoenfield
- Dale Warland
1982
- Dominick Argento
- Dan Breedon
- Elizabeth Breenan
- Jeffery Brooks
- David Edminster
- Tristan Fuentes
- Leland Sateren
- Daniel Sturm
- Steve Barnett
1981
- Earl Buys
- Ralph Johnson
- Libby Larsen
- David Means
- Kim Sherman
- Lloyd Ultan
- John Watson
- Robert Wetzler
1980
- William Englund
- Paul Fetler
- Robert Hanson
- Carolyn Jennings
- Alvin King
- Alex Lubet
- Carleton Macy
- Dale Newton
- Janika Vandervelde
1979
- Carol Barnett
- Dan Breedon
- James Callahan
- Randall Davidson
- Marilyn Grobel
- Eleanor Hovda
- William Kempe
- Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
- Eric Stokes