Emerging Composers Competition
Nurturing choral music as a living, evolving art is central to Cerddorion’s mission. In 2013 we launched our annual Emerging Composers Competition to foster the creation and performance of new works for mixed chorus. Over the years the contest has drawn entries from talented artists around the world. Cerddorion's 2026-2027 season explores the spiritual and compositional legacy of J.S. Bach. For this year’s competition we therefore encourage submissions that relate to, or are in some way inspired by, Bach's music. The winning composition(s) will be premiered on May 2, 2027, during the final concert of our season.
1st prize - $500 and archival recording
2nd prize - premiere and archival recording
Competition judges for 2026-2027: James, John, Sidney Boquiren and David Stern
Submission deadline: January 1, 2027
Previous Winners
2026: David Perkins (First Prize), Rubén García Martín (Second Prize), Helder Oliveira (Honorable Mention)
2020 (performed in 2022): Anuj Bhutani (1st prize), Karen Lemon (2nd prize), Przemysław Pacek (honorable mention).
2019: Karen Lemon (1st prize), Jordan Andrew Davis (2nd prize), Martin Sedek (honorable mention).
2018: David Åberg (1st prize), Bernardino Zanetti (2nd prize)
2017: Bernardino Zanetti and Ron Anderson (tie for 1st prize)
2016: Antonio Somma (1st prize), Kyle Pederson (2nd prize)
2015: Craig Bakalian (1st prize), Francisco José Carbonell (2nd prize), Brian Mountford (honorable mention)
2014: Steven Serpa (1st prize), Joshua Fishbein and Theo Popov (tie for 2nd prize)
2013: Dominick DiOrio (1st prize; no other prizes awarded)