University of Utah Composition

10/08/2026

10/04/2026

Cabrillo Festival is always looking for original voices and ideas. We welcome composers to submit scores and recordings/mockups for review by our Score Review Committee, made up of Cabrillo Festival orchestra members, with works considered for programming in a future season. Submissions can be made via our website at https://cabrillomusic.org/score-submission/

Submissions are accepted year-round, but if you’d like your work to be considered for the 2027 season, now is the time to send it in—the committee will be convening in the next couple of weeks!

All submissions will be reviewed, with full orchestra works under 15 minutes prioritized over concerti, chamber orchestra works, and full-length symphonies. There are no age limit limits or other submission parameters.

For composers 30 and under: We also encourage you to apply for our annual Composers Workshop. Details for the 2027 season and applications will be available later this year. Stay tuned!

09/25/2026

🎶 Join us TOMORROW for a special NOVA workshop!

Join composer Jessica Rudman and soprano Jin-Xiang Yu for a discussion about the world premiere of Rudman’s Exsilium, a song cycle commissioned by NOVA and featured in our upcoming Lost Freedom concert.

📅 Saturday, September 26
⏰ 12:30–1:30 PM
📍 University of Utah School of Music, Room 282
🎟️ Free and open to all!

The workshop offers a chance to hear directly from the composer and soprano about the creative process behind this powerful new work.

Then, join us Sunday for Lost Freedom, featuring the world premiere of Exsilium alongside music by Franz Schubert and Kenji Bunch’s Lost Freedom, which explores the experiences of Japanese Americans during and after World War II.

09/16/2026

Coming up soon! U of U students get in free.

University of Utah School of Music

What does freedom sound like?

NOVA opens its 2026–27 season with Lost Freedom, a powerful program exploring freedom, displacement, and resilience through music by Franz Schubert and Kenji Bunch, alongside a world premiere by University of Utah composer Jessica Rudman.

The program features Schubert’s beloved wanderer songs, his fiery Quartettsatz, and Bunch’s Lost Freedom, which honors the experiences of Japanese Americans during and after World War II. The performance will also feature soprano Jin-Xiang Yu performing with NOVA’s Artistic Director Kimi Kawashima, and narration by Plan-B Theatre’s Artistic Director Jerry Rapier.

📅 Sunday, September 27, 2026 | 3:00 PM

📍 Libby Gardner Concert Hall

🎟️ $30 adults | $5 students & under 18 | Free for University of Utah students

09/14/2026

Deadline extended to 9/20!

⚠️ Deadline extended! ⚠️ Applications for the next EarShot Readings with Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin, January 20–21, 2027, are now due September 20.

Selected composers will have their chamber orchestra works rehearsed, performed, and recorded. There is no application fee. Local accommodations and up to $700 in travel support are provided.

Apply by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, September 20, 2026. BIPOC and women composers are strongly encouraged to apply.

Learn more and apply here: https://www.americancomposers.org/earshot-composer-incubator/call-for-scores-earshot-readings-wisconsin-chamber-orchestra

09/05/2026

Sep 15 - Applications DUESep 19  - Session 1 - introductions + Instrumental Q&ASep 28 - Session 2 - orchestrating for Hypercube with erin Rogers (90 mins)Oct 5 - Session 3 - Writing about your work with BKT Education (90 mins)Oct 7 - Early draft of piece DUEOct 8-10 - Individually scheduled lesson...

09/03/2026

Applications are now open for the 2027 Alba Music Festival Composition Program! It is free to apply and open to composers and music creators from anywhere in the world and at any stage of career. Applications are open through December 15, and some limited financial aid is available. If you are a composer interested in an intensive and collegial musical experience in Italy, or know someone who might be, please have a look and share widely!

The program features an intensive week of music-making as part of the Alba Music Festival. Participants receive private composition lessons, take part in daily workshops and masterclasses, and have their music performed and professionally recorded by our Ensemble-in-Residence. For 2027, we are delighted to welcome Quartet ES as our Ensemble-in-Residence, with Jennifer Jolley and Eric Nathan as Composers-in-Residence, and Andrew Bishop and J. Anthony Allen joining our resident composition faculty.

Beyond the lessons, rehearsals, concerts, and workshops, the program offers the opportunity to spend a week immersed in the cultural life of Alba and Italy’s Piedmont region, a center for some of the worlds finest w**e and food.

May 22–31, 2027 | Alba, Italy
https://www.albacomposition.com

09/03/2026

Applications close soon for the next EarShot Readings with Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin, January 20–21, 2027.

Selected composers will have their chamber orchestra works rehearsed, performed, and recorded. There is no application fee. Local accommodations and up to $700 in travel support are provided.

Apply by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, September 13, 2026. BIPOC and women composers are strongly encouraged to apply.

Learn more and apply: https://www.americancomposers.org/earshot-composer-incubator/call-for-scores-earshot-readings-wisconsin-chamber-orchestra

08/11/2026

08/09/2026

Composers! Researchers!

Submit your work for the 2027 Penn State International New-Music Festival and Symposium!

Festival dates: March 18-20, 2027
Submission deadline: September 4, 2026
Notification date: October 19, 2026

Guest Ensemble: Anzû Quartet

Composers: There are 31 submission categories to choose from! You can submit up to two works total.

Research Presenters: There will be two two-hour research presentation sessions! You can submit thirty-minute research presentation proposals on any topic related to contemporary music.

The guidelines and call are packed full of information… check it out via the links below.

Composition Guidelines:
https://sites.psu.edu/pennstatecomposition/files/2026/08/Penn-State-2027-New-Music-Festival-and-Symposium-Call-for-Scores-Announcement.pdf

Composition Online Submission Form:
https://forms.gle/zx4xbHsnYo7awGqs8

Research Presentations Guidelines:
https://sites.psu.edu/pennstatecomposition/files/2026/08/Penn-State-2027-New-Music-Festival-and-Symposium-Call-for-Presentations-Announcement.pdf

Research Presentations Online Submission Form:
https://forms.gle/Feo1k4mLCWS5ZiCp9

Festival Webpage:
https://sites.psu.edu/pennstatecomposition/penn-state-international-new-music-festival-and-symposium/

The Penn State University School of Music will be holding the 4th Biennial International New-Music Festival and Symposium March 18-20, 2027. The festival will consist of multiple concerts and research presentation sessions, featuring the work of composers and scholars selected through an international call for scores and research proposals. Selected composer participants will attend the festival in person, work with performers, network with other participants and within the Penn State community, and hear their compositions presented on a festival concert. Selected scholars will present a paper/presentation on any topic related to contemporary music. The festival concerts will feature performances by Penn State faculty and student performers, Penn State large ensembles, chamber ensembles, and guest ensemble Anzû Quartet. Composers can submit up to two works total and can select from 31 categories/genres for submission.

Penn State School of Music