Opportunities

10th Biennial Holyoke Civic Symphony Composition Competition

The Holyoke Civic Symphony, a college/community orchestra in Holyoke, Massachusetts, announces its 10th biennial composition competition. The winning composition will be performed by the orchestra on Sunday, May 3, 2026, and the composer will receive a prize of $500 and an archive recording. There is no entry fee, and the competition is open to United States based composers of any age.

10th Annual SJO George Duke Commissioning Prize competition

The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra has opened it’s 10th Annual SJO George Duke Commissioning Prize Competition. The $5,000 prize is open to all composers. The newly commissioned work will be premiered by the SJO and entered into the SJO’s catalog of symphonic jazz commissions. Winner will also receive a one-year Sibelius Ultimate license (AVID’s music notation software).

Ucross Residency Program 2026

Ucross strives to provide a respectful, comfortable, and productive environment, freeing artists from the pressures and distractions of daily life. Each year, we provide residencies to approximately 115 individuals. Residencies range from two weeks to six weeks in length. Ucross provides each artist with living accommodations, meals, work space, and uninterrupted time so that the artists can focus on their creative process. Lunch and dinners are prepared Monday to Friday by a professional chef with ample provisions on hand for breakfasts and weekends. Lunches are delivered to individual studios; group dinners take place at 6 p.m. Towels and all linens are provided, as is weekly housekeeping for bedrooms. There is cell phone service and wireless internet throughout residency facilities. Residents are responsible for providing their own working materials and for their travel to Sheridan, Wyoming. First deadline is July 15; second is January 15, 2026. Application fee is $40.

2026 Heidelberg New Music Association New Music Festival and Symposium – Call for Scores and Presentations

The Heidelberg New Music Association and School of Music & Theatre will be holding the 1st Biennial New Music Festival and Symposium on March 26th – 28th, 2026. The festival will consist of five concerts and research presentation sessions, featuring the work of composers and scholars selected through a call for scores and paper proposals. Selected composers will attend the festival in person, collaborate with performers, network with other participants and the Heidelberg community, and hear their compositions. Selected scholars will give presentations on any topic related to contemporary music, music composition, or composition pedagogy.

Women Composers Visibility Recording Project

This project will focus on increasing the visibility of classical female composers by professionally recording female composition students’ works in a classical setting using classical miking techniques. This project is essential because of the lack of prominent female composers programmed by band and orchestra ensembles. Recording the original music of student composers allows them to have a resource to promote their music and advertise it to potential buyers. Selected composers will retain all rights to their work and receive a high quality recording of the work that they may use at your discretion.

MusicON International Composition Competition 2025

Mayflower Art Center, an institution dedicated to music education and performance operations, is proud to announce The MusicON International Composition Competition 2025. This competition supports the creation of new music by young composers. First prize winner ages 18–30 and over receive $2,000, with two honorable mentions receiving $500. First prize winner under 18 receive $1,000. The winning compositions will be performed in October at the National Opera Center in New York City. Deadline is August 15, 2025 12pm EST.

Angel City Chorale Competition for Young Composers 2025

Angel City Chorale invites emerging composers aged 18–30 to submit original choral works for its inaugural “Sharing Common Ground” competition. Centered on the theme “The Ground We Share,” this opportunity offers a $3,500 prize, professional premiere in Los Angeles, and exclusive performance by the renowned community choir. Deadline: September 1, 2025.

Pittsburgh Symphony 25/26 Schooltime Call for Scores from Pennsylvania Composers

The Pittsburgh Symphony announces a Call for Scores for its 25/26 Schooltime program from composers currently living or studying in Pennsylvania. The winning composer will be awarded a $1,000 prize, along with travel and accommodations to hear their piece performed by the PSO during Schooltime concerts at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh (March 18-20, 2026). The winning composer will also receive an archival recording of the live performance of their work for personal use. Deadline: September 15, 2025.

Lamnth Lab Open 2025/2026 Call for Scores

LamnthLab 2025/2026 is our second annual open call for composers. Two selected composers will receive a commissioning fee of $1,000 to write a new work for violin and cimbalom (8 minutes or longer). Selected works will be premiered in the 2026-2027 season.

2025 Frank Robert Abell Young Composers Competition for New Chamber Music

The University of Louisville requests submissions for the 2025 Frank Robert Abell Young Composers Competition for New Chamber Music. Open to composers residing in the United States, ages 18-26 by August 1, 2025. Works may be a maximum of 25 minutes and should be scored for 3-7 instruments. Electronic (live of fixed media) is permitted. First place prize is $10,000 USD, second place prize is $6,000 USD. 

American Guild of Organists 2026 Woman Composer Sunday Organ Composition Competition

The AGO Task Force for Gender Equity invites women and nonbinary composers to submit new and unpublished organ compositions to celebrate Woman Composer Sunday on March 8, 2026. Submission deadline is September 1, first and second prizes from $250-$1,000.

The International Big Band Composition Competition

Associazione Istantanea APS, in collaboration with the Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra (TJCO) and Bologna Jazz Festival, is pleased to announce the International Big Band Composition Competition, open to composers of all ages and nationalities. Up to three selected works will be performed in concert and recorded by the TJCO at Torrione San Giovanni—a Renaissance UNESCO World Heritage site and home of the Ferrara Jazz Club in Italy. First place winner receives a €1,000 prize.

Gabriela Ortiz Composing Studio at OAcademy

The Gabriela Ortiz Composing Studio at OAcademy is a six-month lab, open to 12 innovative early-career composers. Fellows receive mentorship from a diverse roster, including Du Yun, Andrew Norman, Missy Mazzoli, Marcos Balter, Tyshawn Sorey, Vanessa Rose, Ted Hearne, Tonia Ko and many others. Lead composer Gabriela Ortiz mentors fellows directly during a residency in Maryland, workshopping compositions with professional performers. Tuition is $3,500, with an early bird special of $3,350 for those that apply by Jul. 15. Deadline is Oct. 1.

International Brazilian Opera Company Operatic Overture Workshop

Join the 5th IBOC Opera Composition Online Course in Fall 2025.
This year’s course is “Operatic Overture Workshop: Compose Opera with João MacDowell,” held on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 PM EST from Sep. 9 to Dec. 9. Tuition is $1100, $900 for those that apply by Jul. 31. Deadline is Sep. 9.

Call for Submissions: inner sOUndscapes | Saxophone

inner sOUndscapes is a concert series dedicated to electroacoustic music, organized by the computer music studio of the University of Oklahoma, School of Music. For its Fall 2025 edition, inner sOUndscapes accepts anonymous submissions for works for solo soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass saxophones, accompanied by live electronics or fixed media. We are also open to any combinations of the aforementioned instruments: duos, trios, quartets, etc and electronics. New works that have not been premiered are particularly welcomed! The selected works will be performed by students during the inner sOUndscapes concert at the University of Oklahoma, School of Music in mid-November.

9th Annual Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition

The Ninth Annual Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition seeks 5-6 min. choral works. The selected composer will be commissioned to write a 5-6 minute work for True Concord to premiere during the 2026-27 season. The text will be selected in collaboration with the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Awardees receive a $2,000 prize and a $500 travel stipend. Deadline: Aug. 31.

National Young Composers Challenge

The National Young Composers Challenge is now accepting submissions from US-based composers ages 13-18 works for orchestra or chamber group. Submissions must be no longer than 5 minutes. Six winners will receive cash awards – $1,000 for orchestral, $500 for chamber ensemble – and have their music performed live by members of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the NYCC Composium event held in Steinmetz Hall in Orlando, FL. 

The 2025 Saint Francis of Assisi International Music Composition Competition

Comisión Nacional para los Centenarios Franciscanos, acting through Fundación Escuela Superior de Estudios Franciscanos, calls for a composition competition on the occasion of the 8th Centenary of the poem “Laudes Creaturarum” of St. Francis of Assisi. The aim is to create an original musical work based on the poem. Winners receive 4,000 euro, not including tax deductions, and premiere of their work as part of the VIII Centenary Celebration of St. Francis in Spain.

True Concord Inaugural Christmas Carol Competition

True Concord Voices & Orchestra seeks new, unpublished Christmas works for its December 2025 Lessons & Carols by Candlelight Concerts and/or its Holiday Special. The winning piece(s) may be either an original Christmas-themed composition or an arrangement of a pre-existing Christmas carol tune. Awardees will receive $1,000. Applications may submit a work for SATB voicing, with or without instrumentation, between 3-6 minutes, with text either in the public domain OR used with permission of the author. Sacred and secular text is permitted.

2026-2027 Loghaven Artist Residency

Loghaven invites emerging and established artists to apply for two to six-week residencies occurring in 2026 and 2027. All resident artists receive a living stipend of $850 per week in addition to travel and freight reimbursement. Artists can find inspiration across Loghaven’s award-winning 90-acre campus, which includes beautifully rehabilitated log cabins and light-filled studio spaces.