2026–2027 Composition Contest:
Chamber Music for Young Students
Deadline to Apply: April 15th, 2027
Winners Announced: June 30th, 2027
Winners Announced: June 30th, 2027
2026–2027 Composition Contest:
Orpheus Academy of Music announces the second annual Composition Contest to write Chamber Music for Young Students (intermediate level, for those with 3 to 4 years of experience).
In an effort to bring exciting new music to young players, we are developing a graded, searchable database of chamber music. This project intends to make it easy for chamber music coaches to find appropriate level music for any student ensemble.
All compositions received for this competition will be available for download from the site to aid in the growth of chamber music among youth.
In an effort to bring exciting new music to young players, we are developing a graded, searchable database of chamber music. This project intends to make it easy for chamber music coaches to find appropriate level music for any student ensemble.
All compositions received for this competition will be available for download from the site to aid in the growth of chamber music among youth.
OVER $5,000 IN AWARDS
First place winner will receive:
$2,000 USD cash
$1,000 travel stipend to attend the premiere
Premiere by Orpheus Academy of Music Students Chamber
Recording of the live performance
Second place winner will receive:
$1,000 USD cash
Premiere by Orpheus Academy of Music Students Chamber
Recording of the live performance
Third place winners will receive:
$500 USD cash
Premiere by Orpheus Academy of Music Students Chamber
Recording of the live performance
Every entry that meets the competition requirements outlined below will receive a recorded performance of their piece!
$2,000 USD cash
$1,000 travel stipend to attend the premiere
Premiere by Orpheus Academy of Music Students Chamber
Recording of the live performance
Second place winner will receive:
$1,000 USD cash
Premiere by Orpheus Academy of Music Students Chamber
Recording of the live performance
Third place winners will receive:
$500 USD cash
Premiere by Orpheus Academy of Music Students Chamber
Recording of the live performance
Every entry that meets the competition requirements outlined below will receive a recorded performance of their piece!
COMPOSITION GUIDELINES
Composers of all ages and nationalities may apply.
Compositions must be originally composed for this competition. Works that have previously been performed or published will not be considered.
Music can be intended to be performed with or without a conductor.
Instrumentation: Select one of the two following ensemble types:
Length: A suite of 3-5 movements. The length of the entire suite should total 190–220 measures, although modest variation is welcome if it serves the musical design of the work.
Rhythm: Meters: 3/4, 4/4, 6/8; no fast lines or repeated notes for more than four beats; single instances of syncopation (no part should play off the beat for more than 2 beats); sixteenth patterns of 4 sixteenth notes or eighth followed by two sixteenth notes may be used for up to 2 beats at a time.
Tempo: Not more than one moderately fast movement. Slow to medium for other movements. Tempo selection should be based on the overall difficulty of the rhythms, techniques, and interplay of the parts.
Style: All styles welcome! Compositions may be completely atonal, folk-song-like, aleatoric, jazz, classical, pop, minimalist, or any other style that the composer believes will be interesting to young children so long as it forms a coherent set.
Additional Compositional Resources: Players may be asked to do simple vocalizations and employ simple percussion on their instrument, a wood block, or a similar, easily acquired percussion instrument.
Measuring Difficulty: These pieces are intended to be easily learned by young children with 3-4 years of experience. In addition to the restrictions for each instrument below, please bear in mind that difficulty is cumulative - that is, one challenge might be manageable, but multiple difficulties (shifting during syncopation, multiple difficult passages in each part in a single phrase, etc.) increase the difficulty exponentially for children. Please use common sense in creating a work that will be exciting and easily learned.
Compositions must be originally composed for this competition. Works that have previously been performed or published will not be considered.
Music can be intended to be performed with or without a conductor.
Instrumentation: Select one of the two following ensemble types:
- Piano, Violin, Cello
- Piano, Violin, Amplified Classical Guitar (no electric guitar)
Length: A suite of 3-5 movements. The length of the entire suite should total 190–220 measures, although modest variation is welcome if it serves the musical design of the work.
Rhythm: Meters: 3/4, 4/4, 6/8; no fast lines or repeated notes for more than four beats; single instances of syncopation (no part should play off the beat for more than 2 beats); sixteenth patterns of 4 sixteenth notes or eighth followed by two sixteenth notes may be used for up to 2 beats at a time.
Tempo: Not more than one moderately fast movement. Slow to medium for other movements. Tempo selection should be based on the overall difficulty of the rhythms, techniques, and interplay of the parts.
Style: All styles welcome! Compositions may be completely atonal, folk-song-like, aleatoric, jazz, classical, pop, minimalist, or any other style that the composer believes will be interesting to young children so long as it forms a coherent set.
Additional Compositional Resources: Players may be asked to do simple vocalizations and employ simple percussion on their instrument, a wood block, or a similar, easily acquired percussion instrument.
Measuring Difficulty: These pieces are intended to be easily learned by young children with 3-4 years of experience. In addition to the restrictions for each instrument below, please bear in mind that difficulty is cumulative - that is, one challenge might be manageable, but multiple difficulties (shifting during syncopation, multiple difficult passages in each part in a single phrase, etc.) increase the difficulty exponentially for children. Please use common sense in creating a work that will be exciting and easily learned.
INSTRUMENT GUIDELINES
Compositions must conform to the following restrictions on each instrument.
PIANO:
Skills
Things to Avoid
- Three note chords within a 6th with a maximum of one black key per hand.
- Scales up to 4#’s may be played slowly.
- Simple cross hand arpeggios beginning on a natural note.
- Melody with half note accompaniment.
- Parallel thirds legato in one hand.
- Simple mixed articulations.
- Legato pedaling on long notes.
- Glissandi OKAY.
- Ornamentation that includes trills, mordents, turns, and grace notes OKAY.
Things to Avoid
- Quick pedal changes.
- Quick chord changes.
- Quick position changes.
- Consecutive position changes of more than a step.
- Fast repeated notes.
GUITAR:
Skills
Things to Avoid
- 1st through 7th position.
- Extended techniques such as Bartok pizz., plucking strings above the nut, golpe (drumming) and tambour.
- Moving a fingering shape to different parts of the fretboard.
- Chords with a maximum of three fingers held.
- Arpeggios of above chords at slow speeds.
- Glissandi on a single string
- 12th-fret Harmonics
Things to Avoid
- Large stretches between fingers. Stretches when more than 2 fingers are in use.
- Changing more than 2 fingers in a chord quickly.
- More than 2 positions per movement..
- Flat keys.
- Legato scale passages.
- Bars.
- Fast stepwise movement of more than 3 notes.
VIOLIN & VIOLA:
Skills
Things to Avoid
- All first position notes.
- 3rd position on the 1st and 2nd string.
- Keys with up to 3 sharps or 2 flats (major and minor).
- Martele & Detache bow strokes.
- Slow long bows are okay (up to 4 to 5 seconds long.)
- Pizz.
- Glissandi on a single string.
- Doubles stops in thirds, octaves, and fourths are acceptable as long as an open string is included.
Things to Avoid
- Bows over 6 seconds.
- Slurs over 4 notes or that involve a string crossing.
- If switching from Pizz to Arco, or vice versa, add rests between these articulation markings to prevent disrupting tempo and sound quality.
- Non-neighboring String crossings: for example, from E string to G string.
- String crossing at the tip of the bow (don’t string cross after a long note).
- Double stops with more than two strings at a time. Avoid diminished chords. (Do not change quickly to another double stop. Allow for plenty of time for tuning/adjustment purposes.)
CELLO:
Skills
Things to Avoid
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions, (allow plenty of time to shift between the positions).
- May extend up with the 4th finger to expand the position by a half step (for example: E, F# and G# on first position.)
- Pizz.
- Glissandi on a single string.
- Slow long bows are okay (up to 4 to 5 seconds long).
- Doubles tops in thirds, octaves, and fourths are acceptable as long as an open string is included.
Things to Avoid
- Bows over 6 seconds.
- More than 2 positions per piece.
- Slurs over 4 notes or that involve more than one string crossing.
- Non-neighboring string crossings. For example, from A string to C string.
- Double stops with more than two strings at a time. Avoid diminished chords. (Do not change quickly to another double stop. Allow for plenty of time for tuning/adjustment purposes.)
HOW TO APPLY
Score: Each composer must submit a legible score of professional quality with the individual instrumental parts included. Marks identifying the composer must not appear anywhere on the score.
Number of entries: Composers may submit as many works as they like, with each accompanied by a separate application and entry fee.
Step 1: Study the composition guidelines above. Please note that compositions which do not conform to these guidelines may be disqualified. For questions and/or clarification about the guidelines, please email: [email protected]
Step 2: Email [email protected] with the following:
Number of entries: Composers may submit as many works as they like, with each accompanied by a separate application and entry fee.
Step 1: Study the composition guidelines above. Please note that compositions which do not conform to these guidelines may be disqualified. For questions and/or clarification about the guidelines, please email: [email protected]
Step 2: Email [email protected] with the following:
- Subject: “Composition Contest Entry”
- Include: 1) Title of work 2) Instrumentation
- Attach: A legible score of professional quality. Marks identifying the composer must not appear anywhere on the score.
Step 3: Pay $25.00 entry fee.
2025–2026 Contest Results
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Thank you to the talented composers who submitted 18 incredible pieces in our first ever Student Chamber Music Composition Contest!
The compositions were judged anonymously on multiple criteria. Judges were teachers at Orpheus Academy of Music who played through each piece together (they all sounded amazing!) and then independently wrote down their scores for each category. After tabulating the scores, we are excited to announce the final results:
First Prize: "Five Halloween Tales" for string quartet by Edmund Jolliffe
Second Prize: "Exotic Aquarium" for piano quintet by Edmund Jolliffe
Third Prize: "Forest Awakening" by John Roberts Leonard
In addition, the committee has decided to award 6 "Honorable Mentions" to works that were just outside of the scoring range of the top three prizes. Each honoree in this category will receive a $100 honorarium. These include:
Every participant will receive a recorded performance of their piece, and we will be awarding over $5,000 in prizes to the winners!
On a personal note, I would just like to express my extreme gratitude for the amazing creativity, hard work, and dedication of each and every composer. Sitting in on the judging, I was in awe of the inventiveness of each composition, and I hope that they will all be performed many, many times by students at Orpheus Academy of Music and others around the world.
Thank you so much for helping to develop a key element of music education for young people!
Sincerely,
Dr. Klondike Steadman
The compositions were judged anonymously on multiple criteria. Judges were teachers at Orpheus Academy of Music who played through each piece together (they all sounded amazing!) and then independently wrote down their scores for each category. After tabulating the scores, we are excited to announce the final results:
First Prize: "Five Halloween Tales" for string quartet by Edmund Jolliffe
Second Prize: "Exotic Aquarium" for piano quintet by Edmund Jolliffe
Third Prize: "Forest Awakening" by John Roberts Leonard
In addition, the committee has decided to award 6 "Honorable Mentions" to works that were just outside of the scoring range of the top three prizes. Each honoree in this category will receive a $100 honorarium. These include:
- "Orpheus and Eurydice" by Byron Goble
- "Partita for Young Musicians" by Ethan Hsu
- "16 Strings" by Matt Knisley
- "My Butterfly Life" by Vinh Giang Vovan
- "3 Little Pigs" by Kyra Hong
- "Toy Box Suite" by Ayelet Armon
Every participant will receive a recorded performance of their piece, and we will be awarding over $5,000 in prizes to the winners!
On a personal note, I would just like to express my extreme gratitude for the amazing creativity, hard work, and dedication of each and every composer. Sitting in on the judging, I was in awe of the inventiveness of each composition, and I hope that they will all be performed many, many times by students at Orpheus Academy of Music and others around the world.
Thank you so much for helping to develop a key element of music education for young people!
Sincerely,
Dr. Klondike Steadman
