McKnight Composer Fellowships

Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists and culture bearers thrive, the McKnight Foundation’s arts and culture program is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. Support for individual working Minnesota artists and culture bearers has been a cornerstone of the program since it began in 1982. The McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 15 different creative disciplines. Program partner organizations administer the fellowships and structure them to respond to the unique challenges of different disciplines. Currently, the foundation contributes about $2.8 million per year to its statewide fellowships. For more information, visit mcknight.org/artistfellowships.

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 who demonstrate compelling artistic work. 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.

2024 McKnight Composer Fellowship Awardees

The panelists who selected the 2024 awardees were Pascal Le Boeuf, Mary Prescott, J.E. Hernández, and Queen Drea.

Alex Bissen (IOSIS) — Photo by Charles Hainsworth;  Sivan Cohen Elias — Photo by Vera Nebolsina; Leyna Marika Papach — Photo by Masumi Kouakou; Steve Tibbetts — Photo by anonymous

The Purpose of the McKnight Artist and Culture Bearers Fellowships

The intent of the McKnight Artist and Culture Bearers Fellowship is to recognize and support artists and culture bearers who are beyond emerging and have sustained experience in their area of practice. Fellows demonstrate achievement, commitment, and high-level proficiency in artistic and/or culture bearer practice that contributes to their field and impacts and benefits people in Minnesota.

The addition of culture bearer acknowledges that the McKnight programs support creative leaders in Minnesota from cultures that don’t use the word “artist” (such as Native American and Hmong), as well as those who center the transmission and preservation of cultural lifeways.

Awards

• Four fellowships of $25,000 in unrestricted funds will be awarded. Awards are subject to state and federal income tax guidelines.
• Funds are distributed across four installments.
• Fellows also have an opportunity to attend an artist residency program coordinated by the Artist Communities Alliance within two years of the fellowship program.
• Fellows will also have access to financial support up to $3,500 to develop works-in-progress.
• Consultation, time, and resources from ACF.
• Consultation, time, and resources from Springboard for the Arts

2025 McKnight Composer Fellowship Panelists

The panelists who will be selecting the 2025 awardees are Carmina Escobar, Troy Rogers, Jess Rowland, and Mychal Fisher.

Photo Credits: Carmina Escobar photo by Ben Semisch; Troy Rogers photo by Paul Ludgren; Mychal Fisher photo by Adja Gidersleve.

The panelists for the 2024 McKnight Composer Fellowships were:

Photo Credits: Pascal Le Boeuf by Shervin Lainez; Mary Prescott by Bill Phelps; J.E. Hernández by Claire McAdams; Queen Drea, photo provided by artist

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2025 MCKNIGHT COMPOSER FELLOWSHIPS ARE OPEN. 

To view the complete guidelines as a separate document, please click HERE.

2025 McKnight Composer Fellowships

The American Composers Forum (ACF) is pleased to announce the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowships. This program is made possible by the generous support of the McKnight Foundation.

GUIDELINE INFORMATION

ONLINE APPLICATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 (11:59 PM Central)

Please note: ACF is intentional in its interchangeable use of the terms artist, music creator, and composer, as we recognize not everyone identifies themselves by one of these terms.

Program Description

• ACF will select four music creators based in Minnesota to support their continuing artistic practice.
• There are no restrictions on how each music creator makes use of the funds.

Eligibility

• You have or maintain Minnesota residency for at least one year prior to application and for the duration of the fellowship year.
•  You must have a Social Security Number or Tax ID (such as an ITIN) for our program administrator to process financial awards.
• You are beyond early practice and have sustained experience in your discipline.
• You demonstrate achievement, commitment, and high level proficiency in music creation practice.
• For former McKnight fellows applying after the five year sit period: You demonstrate growth and ongoing artistry since your most recent McKnight Artist Fellowship.
• You have not applied to a McKnight Artist Fellowship in any artistic discipline within the past year.
• You have not received a McKnight Artist Fellowship within any artistic discipline in the last five award years. Recipients of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 McKnight Fellowships in any discipline are not eligible. 2019 fellows are eligible to apply again for 2025 fellowship awards. Past fellows can search on the McKnight Artists Fellowship webpage to confirm their award year.
• You are not staff, board, or immediate family of the McKnight Foundation or fellowship administrative partners (including ACF). The partners are shown here: https://www.mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/the-mcknight-artist-fellowships/
• You are not enrolled full-time in an academic program. (Low-Residency MFA students, and Ph.D. and DMA candidates who have completed all requirements except their dissertation, are not considered “full-time” students.)

Key Evaluation Criteria

We believe that the cultural, political, and social landscape around us shapes how we create, share, and receive art. We see artmaking as a profound form of expression and engagement with the world around us – not the objective experience often promoted by Western European traditions. We are interested in supporting artists who intentionally engage with this larger context in their artmaking, in particular those who have been historically excluded from funded opportunities.

Furthermore, we seek to deconstruct the historical concept of “composer,” as well as the assumed default of who is “American.” We encourage applicants to self-identify their music, perspective, and demographic information.

The panelists will review your application and score the following:

Artistic craft:

• Strong sense of the creator’s voice
• Technical proficiency necessary to achieve the desired results
• Quality of work samples (a cultural context continually defines quality)

The applicant has clearly reached beyond early practice as evidenced by:

• Significant body of work
• Creative achievement
• Sustained contribution to their artistic field and to Minnesota’s arts ecosystem.

Selection Process

A review panel of four music creators, artists, and/or advocates are selected for their familiarity with diverse musical approaches and will review applications and select fellowship recipients.

Prescreening:

• ACF staff review all applications for eligibility and completeness.

Panel Review Phases:

• Phase 1 – Independent Review:
  In this phase, panelists are assessing each applicant individually and scoring applicants based on the key evaluation criteria (see above).
  1. Panelists will only listen to up to 5 minutes of Work Sample 1 in this phase.
  2. About 50% of the applications will be passed on to the next phase based on combined scores and a review of the list by the panelists.
• Phase 2 – Panel Review:
  In this phase, panelists will listen to applicants’ music together and have conversations in which they will make comparative judgments about each applicant.
  • Round 1: Panelists will adjust scores on the key evaluation criteria as needed and select between ten and fifteen applications to proceed to the next round.
    • The panelists may revisit Work Sample 1, this time collectively.
    • If you wish for the panelists to listen to different sections of the same work, you can indicate alternative cue times for this review stage (always up to 5 minutes)
    • Panelists will listen to up to 10 minutes of Work Sample 2 (and Work Sample 3, if applicable).

 

• • Round 2 – Panelists will provide an overall score and select the four awardees, alternates, and honorable mentions.
    • Panelists will revisit all work samples as needed. 

Past curators have included Pascal le boeuf, Mary Prescott, J.E. Hernandez, Andrea Reynolds, Maria Chávez, Texu Kim, inti figgis-vizueta, Matthew Evan Taylor, Forbes Graham, Sarah M. Greer, Ritika Ganguly, Danny Clay, Jannina Norpoth, Carlos R. Carrillo.

The ACF staff members who oversee the McKnight Fellowship program do not contribute to the decision-making process or the selection of the McKnight Composer Fellows. The role of the staff is to provide clarity for the review process and to ensure that the curators’ review and the discussions proceed in accordance with the program guidelines.

Notification

The panelists’ decision is final and will be announced in late Januray 2025. Results will be posted on ACF’s website and applicants will be notified by email. After the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowships are announced, all applicants will have the opportunity to set up a 15-minute feedback session with an ACF staff member.

How to Apply

The music creator applicant completes or uploads the following in the Online Application Form via the SlideRoom Application System. The online application can be found HERE.

1. Composer’s Personal Information:

Name, Pronouns, Address, Phone, Email Address, Webpage

2. Questions Regarding Eligibility & Past Participation:

A series of questions to confirm your eligibility for this program and past participation.

3. Work Samples:

In this section, you will provide 2-3 work samples of your music. Together, the work samples should demonstrate the depth of work in your creative practice, including high-level proficiency in your artistic and/or culture bearer practice and your contributions to the field.

General Guidelines

• Submit up to 15 minutes (total) of your original music in audio or video format.
• Include at least one sample of work created in the past five years.
• If you’ve previously received a McKnight Fellowship, focus on work completed since your last award.
• Work sample 3 is optional and should be included only if you haven’t reached the total limit of 15 minutes of music.
• Excerpts are accepted as work samples.

Recommendations

• Work Sample 1 makes the most critical impression on the panelists and should represent your most distinctive and compelling musical example.
• Work Samples 2 and 3 should each be a complementary, complete work.
• Regardless of the linked or uploaded media duration, you will indicate start and end cue times.
  Ensure links remain accessible and unchanged until February 1, 2025.
• Provide active web links (SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, etc.) to your work samples.
• For private samples, make them unlisted so the committee can still access them.
• Instructions for creating unlisted links:
  • SoundCloud: Click HERE
  • Vimeo: Click HERE
  • YouTube: Click HERE
  • Google Drive: Click HERE   

Documentation

• Each sample must clearly connect to your artistic statement, demonstrating how it reflects your vision, commitment, and role within your body of work.
• The work description is crucial for illustrating this relationship and helping the panel understand the significance of each sample. (Up to 3000 characters.)
• Include any supporting materials that provide insight into your creative process and role in the work.
• If relevant, provide PDFs of notated scores (up to 10MB). For larger files, include a web link.
• If your work includes lyrics, provide lyric sheets.
• Acceptable sonic representations include video, spectrograms, waveforms, and graphics.

Note: Panelists cannot access music notation or specialized software directly.

Instructions for Submission 

For each sample, provide:

• Cue Start and End Times (for the specific excerpt from the audio/video files)
• Title
• Full Duration
• Year of Completion
• Ensemble/Name(s) of Performer(s)
• Instrumentation
• Description of the Work

5. Artist’s statement: Link to video (6 minutes max), OR typed answer (max. length: 4000-character, or ca. 600 words)

The artist statement may take any of several directions at your discretion: information about your background, the development of your work, your interests as an artist or your aesthetic position, your future artistic direction, your career status self-assessment, or any other information you would like to present to the panel.

6. Insights into your artistic experiences (4000-characters max, or ca. 600 words):

This can be a biography, a list of 10 artistic experiences that have shaped you as a musician, or a resume. We would like this document to enhance your artistic statement and provide further insights into your music creation. If you choose to list 10 artistic experiences, please go deeper into details on two of the most important experiences out of the ten experiences.

7. A complete works list (PDF only – up to 10MB):
For each of your works, include the title, year created, approximate duration of work, instrumentation, year of the premiere, and performer or ensemble that premiered the work.

8. Questions regarding social media, information sessions, and how you learned about this opportunity.

9. Acknowledgement of McKnight Artist Fellowship Community Values

10. Acknowledgement of Terms and Conditions

By applying, you attest:

• You have carefully reviewed the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowships application guidelines.
• To the accuracy of the information supplied in the application.
• Application materials submitted are the applicant’s sole and original work.
• You understand the purpose and conditions of the McKnight Composer Fellowship program and you accept them should you be selected as a fellow.
• You are eligible for the competition, and you will notify the Director of Programs if you become ineligible prior to the conclusion of the competition.
• Providing false or misleading information on this application, or failing in any other way to comply with the rules, will subject you to disqualification and forfeiture of the fellowship.
• You understand that your application must be completed by the online application deadline of Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 (11:59 PM Central). ACF / McKnight Composer Fellowship program takes no responsibility for applications that are not in Submitted status at the deadline.

11. Music Creator’s Demographic Form

In our commitment to racial equity, we include within that scope, but do not limit it to, diverse gender identities, musical approaches and perspectives, religions, ages, abilities, cultures, backgrounds, and sexual orientations.

Sharing your information is optional, but helps us to understand the impact of our efforts to invite and welcome a broad range of artists. This information will not be shared publicly or with funders/other third parties with your name unless explicitly approved by you.

Instructions:

What you share in the 2025 Demographic Information form as part of your SlideRoom application for this program will be included in your application and seen by curators. If you prefer to keep your answers separate/anonymous, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/6e6kDDsug5Xq81NE7. Not sharing your information will not negatively impact your application.

1. I identify as:
   • BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person Of Color), ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American), Mixed Race, or Global Majority (Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, people that has been racialized as ‘ethnic minorities’)
   • White
2. Which of the following regions do you identify with? (check all that apply)
   • African descent/Diaspora
   • Southern African descent
   • Central African descent
   • East African descent
   • North African descent
   • West African descent
   • Caribbean descent
   • North American descent
   • Central American descent
   • South American descent
   • Central Asian descent
   • East Asian descent
   • South Asian descent
   • Southeast Asian descent
   • Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian descent
   • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Island descent
   • European descent
   • Decline to State
3. Please share the words you use to more fully communicate who you are and your experiences. You may include specific race, ethnic, region, national group, and/or tribal/band affiliations you identify with. (Examples: Alaskan Native, Dakota-Shakopee Mdewakanton, Honduran, Azeri/Persian, Puerto Rican, Nigerian, Hmong, Thai, Scots-Irish, Russian Jewish descent, Laotian, Chicano, Italian, Rural/Remote resident, Yupik, Haitian and Creole, Norwegian, decline to state, I don’t know, etc.)
4. Which gender(s) do you identify with? (check all that apply.)
   • Female
   • Gender non-conforming
   • Gender fluid
   • Male
   • Non-binary
   • Two Spirit
   • Decline to State
   • Prefer to self-identify (use the open field in next question)
5. Open field for the question above: which gender(s) do you identify with?
6. Do you identify as transgender?
   • Yes
   • No
   • Decline to State
7. Do you identify as disabled or as a person with a disability?
   • Yes
   • No
   • Decline to State
8. Do you identify as neurodivergent?
   • Yes
   • No
   • Decline to State

Additional Information

• Entries must be submitted electronically on or before 11:59 PM Central on Tuesday, October 29th, 2024.
• There will be a 24-hour grace period to accommodate any issues submitting your application by the deadline, but your application must have been started before the deadline. After the grace period, late applications will not be considered under any circumstance.
• Entries submitted by mail or means other than the provided online application process will not be eligible for consideration.

Questions

The American Composers Forum encourages applicants to contact ACF staff to ask questions and discuss potential applications. For general questions regarding the McKnight Composer Fellowship program applications, please contact Natalia Camargo Duarte, Programs Associate, at ncamargo@composersforum.org.

2023

2023 panelists were Maria Chávez (New York, NY), inti figgis-vizueta (New York, NY), Texu Kim (San Diego, CA), and Matthew Evan Taylor (Burlington, VT).

LaAerial photo by artist; Troy Rogers (aka Robot Rickshaw) photo by Paul Lundgren; Mychal “MMYYKK” Fisher photo by Michael Harrison; deVon Russell Gray photo by Carrie Thompson

2022

2022 panelists were Forbes Graham (Boston, MA), Sarah M. Greer (Minneapolis, MN), Ritika Ganguly (Minneapolis, MN), Danny Clay (San Francisco, CA), and Jannina Norpoth (Brooklyn, NY).

Mitchell Bercier photo by Elbow Juice,  Mary Ellen Childs photo by Laura Bianchi, Queen Drea photo credit by David Lee Glasgow, and Reinaldo Moya photo by Arthur Moeller

2021

2021 panelists were Carlos R. Carrillo (Urbana, IL), Lovett Hines (Philadelphia, PA), Emily Koh (Norcross, GA), Isaac Schankler (Pasadena, CA), and Samita Sinha (Jackson Heights, NY).

Ashley DuBose photo by Drew Meyer,  Ritika Ganguly photo by Bruce Silcox, George Maurer photo credit by Ric Ide, and Mary Prescott photo by Adela Wagner

2020

2020 panelists were composers Carolina Heredia (Columbia, MO), Donovan Mixon (Evanston, IL), and Beth Wiemann (Maynard, MA).

Davu Seru photo courtesy of Saint Paul Almanac; Anat Spiegel photo by Yaël Temminck

 

2019

2019 panelists were composers Gavin Chuck (Chicago, IL), Elainie Lillios (Bowling Green OH), and Gilda Lyons (Rhinebeck, NY)

Aleksandr Brusentsev photo by Joe Sarah; James G. Everest photo by Erin Westover; Asuka Kakitani photo by Hanayo Takai; Stefon Bionik Taylor photo by Brandon Sweet

 

2018

2018 Panelists: Marcos Balter, Amy Knoles, and Osnat Netzer

2017

2017 Panelists: Fang Man, Ken Field, and Marilyn Shrude

2016

2016 Panelists: Susan Botti, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Douglas Geers

• 2015: Abbie Betinis, David King, Reinaldo Moya, Peter O’Gorman
  Panelists: David Dzubay, Aruán Ortiz, Zeena Parkins
• 2014: Alex Freeman, Jocelyn Hagen, Michelle Kinney, George Maurer
  Panelists: Amir ElSaffar, Stacy Garrop, and Daniel Trueman
• 2013: Randy Bauer, Scott Miller, Joshua Musikantow and David Evan Thomas
  Panelists: Anne LeBaron, Nicole Mitchell and Sven-David Sandstrom
• 2012: Viv Corringham, Christopher Danforth, Douglas R. Ewart and Steve Tibbetts
  Panelists: Nancy Galbraith, Graham Reynolds, Huang Ruo
• 2011:Elizabeth Alexander, Justin Merritt, Jeremy Wagner and Spencer Wirth-Davis
• Panelists: Linda Dusman, J.D. Parran and Jack Perla
• 2010: Neal Hagberg, Jocelyn Hagen, Ann Millikan and Peter O’Gorman
• Panelists: Fernando Benadon, David Conte and Mary Jane Leach
• 2009: Abbie Betinis, Mankwe Ndosi, Schuyler Tsuda and Janika Vandervelde
• Panelists: Derek Bermel, Jennifer Bilfield and Newman Baker
• 2008: John E. Bower, Brent Michael Davids, Philip Fried and Noah Keesecker
• Panelists: Mark Applebaum, Margaret Leng-Tan and David Stock
• 2007:Douglas Ewart, Douglas Geers, Adam Wernick and Preston Wright
• Panelists: Susie Ibarra, Matthew Levy and Steven Stucky
• 2006:Mary Ellen Childs, Viv Corringham, Edie Hill and Aaron Kerr
• Panelists: Milford Graves, Belinda Reynolds and Neil Rolnick
• 2005:Yawo Attivor, Carol Barnett, Eric Barnum and Thomas Scott
• Panelists: Fred Frith, Anthony deMare and Ileana Perez Velazquez
• 2004:Ruth MacKenzie, Mike Olson, Matthew Smith and Ying Zang
• Panelists: Jason Hwang, Alex Shapiro and Kevin Stahlheim
• 2003: Michael Croswell, Jeffrey Brooks, Janika Vandervelde and George Cartwright
• Panelists: Eleanor Hovda, Robert Moran and Roger Kleier
• 2002: Brent Michael Davids, James Harley, Barb Ryman and Preston Wright
• Panelists: Joel Chadabe, Melissa Hui and David Cleary
• 2001:Steve Heitzeg, John O’Brien, Scott Miller and Edie Hill
• Panelists: Chinary Ung, Eve Beglarian and Philip Bimstein
• 2000: Erik Belgum, Douglas Ewart, John Jindra, David Means and Victor Zupanc
• Panelists: Bill Brooks, Tamar Diesendruck and Adolphus Hailstork
• 1999: Chris Bates, Dan Kallman, Anne Kilstofte, Monte Mason and Carei Thomas
• Panelists: Ellen Christi, Allen Strange and Regina Baiocchi
• 1998:Maura Bosch, Jeffrey Brooks, Doug Little and Carl Witt
• Panelists: John Duffy, Fred Ho and Judith Shatin
• 1997: Mary Ellen Childs, Anthony Gatto, Michael Karmon, Schoen Oslund and Gary Wolber
• Panelists: Sebastian Currier, Anne Deane and Gustavo Matamoros
• 1996:Keith Bradshaw, Jan Gilbert, Edie Hill, Michael Nelson, Richard Paske and Russell Platt
• Panelists: Orlando Garcia, James Tenney and Augusta Reed Thomas
• 1995: Ellen Lease, David Means, Kevin Schmidt, Gary Schulte, Lorren Stafford and Zhang Ying
• Panelists: Warren Burt, Fran Richard and Lois Vierk
• 1994:John Baboukis, Jeffrey Brooks, Craig Carnahan, Anne Kilstofte, Ethan Torrey, Janika Vandervelde and Victor Zupanc
• Panelists: Bun-Ching Lam, Susan McClary and Larry Polansky
• 1993:Marc Anderson, Tristan Fuentes, Marjorie Hess, William Lang, Carleton Macy, Lori Westmoreland-Schoenfeld, Paul Siskind and Steve Tibbetts
• Panelists: Mary Ann Feldman, Steven Mackey and Larry Polansky
• 1992:Mary Ellen Childs, Douglas Ewart, Cary John Franklin, Henry Gwiazda, Paul Koonce, Charles McHugh, Monica Maye and David Evan Thomas
• Panelists: Robert Paredes, Jeanette O’Connor and Vincent Plush
• 1991:John Devine, Jan Gilbert, Eleanor Hovda, Daniel Kallman, Homer Lambrecht and David Means
• Panelists: Carman Moore, Ingram Marshall and Marion Brandis
• 1990: Carl Bergmann, Jeffrey Brooks, Arthur Campbell, Mark Hellum, David John Olsen and Eric Stokes
• Panelists: Cindy McTee, Martin Bresnick and Elinor Armer
• 1989: Marc Anderson, Michelle Kinney and Ellen Lease
• Panelists: Reggie Workman, Alice Parker and James Mobberley
• 1988:Miriam Gerberg, Jan Gilbert, Eleanor Hovda and Sarah Peebles
• Panelists: Kenneth Gaburo, Alan Otte and Carol Plantamura
• 1987: Mary Ellen Childs, Randall Davidson and Philip Rhodes
• Panelists: Michael Fleming, Ed London and Nancy Shear

Welcome to the McKnight Artist Fellowships community!  The McKnight Foundation and the administering partners for the McKnight Artist Fellowships are committed to creating and supporting an artistic community in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity.  The community of the McKnight Artist Fellowships includes people who engage with the fellowships program whether as applicants, fellows, panelists, contractors, collaborators, fellowships administrators, and staff of the McKnight Foundation and partnering organizations.

As a community, we commit to creating and maintaining relationships that are free from harm, prejudice, and harassment.  Community members agree to communicate directly and transparently regarding issues of conduct that could negatively impact the well-being of participating members and organizations.

In the case of an accusation, legal action, or conviction, the McKnight Foundation and its fellowship program partners may gather and assess relevant information.  If deemed necessary, the McKnight Foundation and its fellowship program partners may take administrative action up to and including the recommendation of participation in reconciliation or restorative justice processes; disqualification of an application; the termination of a contract; and the recall and/or termination of a fellowship.

This community will be what we make it and our aim is to collectively create an experience in which all artists and members of the McKnight Artist Fellowships community thrive.

For more information about this statement, read this announcement.

ACF staff will offer two 60-minute 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowship Application Information Sessions online to review the application process. During these sessions, there will be time to ask questions about the application process and its components.

These sessions will be offered online via Zoom. You must register to receive the link.
We will record the sessions and post them HERE the following week.
Video tutorials on how to use the Zoom online meeting system can be found HERE.

Session 1: Monday, September 16th – 5:30-6:30 PM Central Time

Topic: we will review all guidelines and walk through the application process in SlideRoom.

REGISTER HERE

Session 2: Wednesday, September 18th – 5:30-6:30 PM Central Time

Topic: we will examine previous awardees’ applications as case studies.

REGISTER HERE

If you need one-on-one assistance with your application, please email our programs associate Natalia Camargo Duarte, at ncamargo@composersforum.org to schedule a meeting.