The deadline for the 2012 Composers Competition submissions has now passed. Thank you all for your applications, and we'll look forward to reviewing your work in the coming month.

Submission Deadline: December 9, 2011


The Carlsbad Music Festival, in partnership with its Founding Ensemble-in-Residence, the Calder Quartet, announces its seventh annual composition competition with a prize of $3,000. The Festival and Quartet seek to commission a new string quartet from a highly original, creative, and compelling composer age 35 or under at the time of application (born after 12/9/1975). The winning composition will be premiered at the 9th annual Carlsbad Music Festival in September 2012. The $3,000 prize includes the commission fee and a travel stipend for the Carlsbad Music Festival concert, free room during residency, and a professional recording of the premiere. 

This year, in an effort to be more green and to save applicants printing and mailing costs, all submissions will be handled online. Online application materials are: a score and recording (MIDI mock-ups are highly discouraged) of two recent pieces, at least one using violin, viola or cello in a chamber music setting; artistic biography, resume, or CV; list of works; $20 application fee; and an optional project proposal or cover letter. The winner will be notified in January 2012. The winner’s completed score and parts must be delivered to the Festival by August 1, 2012 and the winner must attend the concerts in September 2012. 


The Calder Quartet

The Calder Quartet continues to expand the boundaries of chamber music by performing both traditional quartet repertoire as well as partnering with modern masters and performing works by emerging young composers. Reviewing their performance at the 2008 Carlsbad Music Festival, Mark Swed of LA Times declared, "the Calder Quartet...in an astonishingly short time has become the American string quartet to watch." Read more about the Calder Quartet at: www.calderquartet.com

The Carlsbad Music Festival

The Carlsbad Music Festival is an annual alternative classical music festival featuring master artists and the next generation of cutting-edge, world-class musicians premiering new works and performing fresh and compelling music in concert and in the community. The Festival won the 2010 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, has been praised as “marvelously enlightening” by the Los Angeles Times, and draws enthusiastic audiences to its concerts in the coastal California city of Carlsbad. 

The winner of the competition will be decided jointly by the festival’s Founder and Director, Matt McBane, and the Calder Quartet. Questions to: Clint Davis  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it