Opportunities

Cry of the Earth Call for Scores

Seeks unpublished and unrecorded 3-6 minute choral works related to themes present within Pope Francis’s Laudato si encyclical, from any composers. 10 selected works will be performed and recorded at Loyola University Chicago on October 4. Additional performances will also be planned at other universities throughout North America.

International Brazilian Opera Company New Music Summer Intensive

Seeks applications from composers ages 18+ of any nationality. Seven selected composers will participate in composition workshop on contemporary opera music, June 2-7, 2025 in Guarda do Embaú, Santa Catarina, Brazil, including masterclasses and performances. Tuition is $1900 USD until the early bird registration deadline of May 15, then is $2100 USD. Tuition includes housing, but not meals or travel. Scholarships are available to low income and Brazilian students.

Batture Contemporary Call for Scores

Seeks chamber works for 1-6 instruments from Louisiana-based composers. Selected works will be workshopped, performed and recorded at various venues in New Orleans, September 18-20, 2025. Selected composers are required to attend the performances and will each receive a $100 travel honorarium. One selected composer will be awarded $1000 to create a new work.

Duo Nessi Call for Collaborations

Seeks work samples from composers who currently live in countries different from the ones where they were born. Two selected composers will collaborate over the course of one year to create a new work for sho and kamancheh, to be performed on the 2026-27 season.

IAWM Search for New Music Competition

Seeks unpublished and unawarded works in eleven categories, including chamber, orchestral, wind ensemble, choral, jazz, electroacoustic, and sound installation works, from women and nonbinary composers. Winning works will receive prizes of $300 to $1000 depending on category. Applicants must be members of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Individual annual memberships range from $30 to $75.

Ninth Planet Ettelson Composer’s Award

Seeks chamber works for 2-9 performers (available instruments within) from any composers, for $1000 prize and performance in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 2025-26 season. Works not selected for the prize will also be considered for programming. The application fee is $20 for general applicants and $10 for students.

Skyline Bones New Music Workshop

Seeks 3-8 minute works for trombone trio, from any composers. Selected composers will attend workshop June 21-22, 2025 in New York City, including rehearsals and performances. Virtual attendance is possible. Tuition is $350.

Prelude Camp Young Composers Competition

Seeks string quartets 4 minutes or less in length, from US-based composers ages 15-21. Three selected works will be performed in public program by professional faculty musicians of the Prelude Camp as part of the Prelude Chamber Music Festival on June 21, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Gilgamesh Music Festival Call for Electronic Works

Seeks electronic compositions up to 5 minutes in length, from any composers. Selected works will be presented in a virtual concert in October 2025, and may be featured in future performances organized by the Gilgamesh Arts & Culture Foundation.

New York Composers Circle John Eaton Memorial Competition

Seeks 5-15 minute works for 1-4 instruments, from composers in the New York City metropolitan area (including Westchester County, Long Island, and Staten Island), New Jersey, or Connecticut, which have not been performed in this area. The winning composition will be performed at one of the New York Composers Circle’s concerts during the 2025-2026 season. Additionally, the winner will receive a one-year membership to the NYCC.

PRIX CIME International Electroacoustic Music Competition

Seeks fixed media or electroacoustic works from any composers, with a special category for those born after 1990. Selected works will be performed at the ICEM annual festival, and distributed to ICEM members for performance and broadcasting. Some selected composers will also receive 1-2 weeks of studio support, accommodation and lodging.

ARTZenter Emerging Composer Completion Grants

Seeks 50-75 measures or in-progress chamber orchestra works, from composers who are currently enrolled in academic programs of study in music composition in the United States. Up to 8 finalist composers will each receive $3000 to finish their works. 4 winning composers will be invited to participate in a 2-day rehearsal session at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, and will each receive accommodations and a $600 stipend for airfare.

Composers Guild of New Jersey Éxi Chéria Commission

Seeks work samples from New-Jersey-based composers. One selected composer will receive $1500 to compose a new 5-7 minute piece for flute, viola and cello, to be performed in the fall of 2026.

Composers Guild of New Jersey Programs

Seeks project proposals from New-Jersey-based composers, performers or presenting organizations. Of particular interest is awarding commissions through calls for scores administered collaboratively with performers. Selected applicants will receive grants to realize their projects.

Composing Nature

Seeks applications from any composers for program in Lavarone, Italy, August 20-28, 2025, including lessons, classes, and the performance of a new work for percussion or electronics inspired by the region’s landscape. The course fee is 350 Euros, and does not include lodging or food.

Arts Letters and Numbers Creative Music Intensive

Seeks applications for program August 2-17, 2025 at Arts Letters and Numbers in Averill Park, New York, including classes, informal workshops, listening critiques, private lessons, and collaborations, culminating in a concert of particpant works. The program fee is $1950-2250, and includes housing and some meals.

Pacific Chamber Orchestra Dream American Workshop

Seeks 5-10 minute orchestral works, preferably 6-8 minutes, which have not been read or performed by professional orchestras, from composers under age 40 who are US citizens or residents. Submitted works should represent, emanate from or be dedicated to an aspect of cultural heritage and diversity. Five selected composers will each receive a $500 stipend and a workshop with the Pacific Chamber Orchestra, concluding in a public performance on October 26, 2025 in Livermore, California.

Espacios Sonoros Open Call

Seeks 5-15 minute multichannel electroacoustic works (ambisonics B-format is preferred) from any composers, with a special category for Latin American composers under age 35. Selected works will be presented in Salta, Argentina in September 2025.

University of Michigan Organ Conference Call for Proposals

Seeks proposals for talks, performances, lecture-recitals, and roundtables, including scores of up to 10 minutes of music, in the realms of organ, carillon, harpsichord, sacred music, and early music. Selected works will be presented at the University of Michigan Organ Conference, October 5-7, 2025.

Westside Chamber Players Call for Scores

Seeks 6-10 minute chamber orchestra works from composers who are students enrolled in the 2024-25 academic year. Two winning works will be performed and recorded during the 2025-26 season. The $10 application fee can be waived if it presents a financial barrier to applying.