The members of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the National Association of Composers, USA are excited to invite submissions for our 2026 Young Composers Competition, in honor of composer and NACUSAsf founder Nancy Bloomer Deussen.

The competition is open to composers attending grades 7-12 as of spring 2026, living in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Composers are invited to enter up to 2 works for the contest ensemble.

We will award two prizes. The winner of the first prize will receive

• $200 cash and an award certificate;
• Professionally recorded public performance;
• 1 year’s free membership NACUSA (both national and the San Francisco chapter).

The winner of the second prize will receive the performance and recording, and an award certificate.

Eligibility

• Composers must reside in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and attend school in grades 7 through 12, as of spring 2026. (Note this includes composers who live in the Bay Area and attend school elsewhere.)
• Composers may submit up to two works of 3 – 5 minutes each, composed within the last 3 calendar years (January 1, 2023-present).
• Submitted pieces must be written for a trio of 1 flute, 1 clarinet, and 1 bassoon, or any subset.
• Judging criteria include:
  • neat and clear notation, readable for typical experienced player(s);
  • artistic quality, regardless of style;
  • composer and work meet all eligibility criteria stated here.
• Submitted work must have no prior public performance nor any prior award. (Student recitals are fine.) Submitted work cannot include instruments outside the stated ensemble.
• No electronics or prerecorded material.
• Composers must be able to attend the fall 2026 Bay Area performance of the winning work.

Submissions

Submissions will be accepted through New Music Engine, and composers will need to create a free account with New Music Engine at newmusicengine.org For more information on New Music Engine, visit newmusicengine.org and choose “Support” and “User FAQ.”

• Complete score and parts must be submitted as one anonymized PDF file. These may be scans of handwritten notation or produced in notation software; in either case, notation must be clear and legible.
• (Optional) An audio recording of your piece may be included, as a single MP3 or MP4 file. Audio may be recorded live or rendered from MIDI, and may use full instrumentation or a piano reduction. Please include the full title of the work in the audio file name.
• Please ensure that the composer’s name does not appear anywhere in the score or audio.