True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Tucson’s two-time Grammy-nominated professional chamber choir and orchestra, seeks scores for its tenth annual Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition.

ELIGIBILITY
American composers age 18-40 (age as of December 31, 2026)

TIMELINE
Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026. Ten finalists will be announced later in the fall; additional composition samples will be requested at this time. A winner is expected to be announced by December 31, 2026.

DETAILS
To enter, please submit an anonymous pdf score (no composer name or identifying info) of a 5-6 minute choral work with audio (high quality live recordings preferred, MIDI realizations acceptable, mp3 or other compressed format). Submitted works should be for chorus (SATB, up to double divisi) with or without piano and/or one obbligato orchestral instrument.

Send all materials to composercompetition@trueconcord.org. Please include composer name in the body of your email and name documents as your composition title only - no composer name. (Ex. PrayersandRemembrances.pdf)

COMMISSION
The selected composer will be commissioned to write a 5-6 minute work for True Concord to premiere during the 2027-28 season. The text will be selected in collaboration with the University of Arizona Poetry Center.

PRIZE
$2,000 commission for a new work plus $500 travel stipend to attend the premiere.