CURRENT COMPOSER OPPORTUNITIES:
GroundSwell invites submissions for its biennial Emerging Composer’s Competition. The first-place winner of this year’s competition will receive a commission to compose for Montreal’s Quasar Saxophone Quartet, champions of new music for the past three decades. The new piece will be performed at a GroundSwell concert in March, 2026.
Composer Competition
GroundSwell Emerging Composers Competition
2025-26
GroundSwell is pleased to announce its biennial Emerging Composers Competition. The 2025-26 competition features Montreal’s Quasar Saxophone Quartet, an ensemble of the highest calibre that has been committed to championing new Canadian music for the past 3 decades.
Three winners will be selected by a jury consisting of members of the quartet and established composers chosen by GroundSwell. The 1st place winner will be commissioned to compose a new work for saxophone quartet, approximately 5 minutes in duration. This piece will be performed by the Quasar Quartet in Winnipeg at a GroundSwell concert in March 2026 (exact date TBD), and the 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive cash prizes. The 1st place winner’s commissioning fee, travel, and accommodation costs will be provided by GroundSwell. All decisions of the jury will be final.
Eligibility
This competition is open to composers in the early stages of their careers. Applicants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, or foreign citizens studying at a Canadian institution. Applicants may not be currently affiliated with GroundSwell.
Submissions
- Applicants are asked to submit a score and recording of one work for chamber ensemble (at least 2 players). High quality digital renderings are acceptable. Only one application per composer will be accepted.
- Applications will only be accepted digitally: email artistic@gswell.ca with “GroundSwell Composers Competition” as the subject. Include links for your score (.pdf only) and recording (.wav, .aif, or .mp3) via file sharing service such as Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc.
- Include a brief biography.
- There is no application fee.
Prizes
1st place: $3000 commission and performance by Quasar
2nd place: $750
3rd place: $500
Timeline
April 15th, 2025 Deadline for submissions (11:59PM, CDT)
June 15th, 2025 Winner announced
December 15th, 2025 Receipt of new work (completed score and parts)
March, 2026 Performance at GroundSwell Concert
Created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli CQ, DMus for the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition.
The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music is open to all Canadian composers with the aim of encouraging a deep engagement with the complexities of composing concert music in Canada today*.
*Please see below the Foundation’s reflection on what constitutes Canadian music to ensure that the proposed work complies with its definitions.
Focus: Works for Choir, Symphony Orchestra and optional soloist(s)
A commissioning prize of $50,000 CAD is awarded biennially to the composer who proposes a response to this challenge that displays the utmost creativity, artistry, technical mastery and professional expertise.
The musical work resulting from the Commission will be:
- premiered at the AMP Gala Concert during the 2026/2027 season
- given two subsequent international premieres; and
- professionally recorded for a future commercial release.
The winning composer is expected to attend the rehearsals, performances and recording of their prize-winning work, and will be publicly honoured at the AMP Gala Concert in Montreal.
Altogether, the total prize package for the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music is valued at over $200,000 CAD.
Created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli CQ, DMus for the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition.
The Azrieli Commission for International Music invites composers worldwide to engage deeply in an interplay of cultures that have meaningful connections to their lived experience*.
*Please see below the Foundation’s statement on what constitutes International music to ensure that the proposed work complies with its definitions.
A commissioning prize of $50,000 CAD is awarded biennially to the composer who proposes a response to this question that displays the utmost creativity, artistry, technical mastery and professional expertise.
The musical work resulting from the Commission will be:
- premiered at the AMP Gala Concert during the 2026/2027 season;
- given two subsequent international premieres; and
- professionally recorded for a future commercial release.
The winning composer is expected to attend the rehearsals, performances and recordings of their prize-winning work, and will be publicly honoured at the AMP Gala Concert in Montreal.
Altogether, the total prize package for the Azrieli Commission for International Music is valued at over $200,000 CAD.
Created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli CQ, DMus for the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition.
The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music of $50,000 CAD is awarded biennially through a competitive process to a composer who has written the best undiscovered work of Jewish music*.
*Please see below the Foundation’s statement on what constitutes Jewish music to ensure that the nominated work complies with its definitions.
Focus: Works for Choir, Symphony Orchestra and optional soloist(s)
Open to the international music community, works can be nominated by individuals and institutions from all nationalities, faiths, backgrounds and communities and submitted through this open call for scores. Nominated works may have been premiered within seventy-five (75) years of the award date, but must not have a significant performance history, and must not have been commercially recorded.
The musical work will be:
- premiered at the AMP Gala Concert during the 2026/2027 season;
- given two subsequent international premieres; and
- professionally recorded for a future commercial release.
The winning composer is expected to attend the rehearsals, performances and recordings of their prize-winning work, and will be publicly honoured at the AMP Gala Concert in Montreal.
Altogether, the total prize package for the Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music is valued at over $200,000 CAD.
Created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli CQ, DMus for the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition.
The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music is open to composers worldwide with the aim of encouraging creative and critical engagement with the question ‘What is Jewish Music?’*
*Please see below the Foundation’s statement on what constitutes Jewish music to ensure that the proposed work complies with its definitions.
Focus: Works for Choir, Symphony Orchestra and optional soloist(s)
A commissioning prize of $50,000 CAD is awarded biennially to the composer who proposes a response to this question that displays the utmost creativity, artistry, technical mastery and professional expertise.
The musical work resulting from the Commission will be:
- premiered at the AMP Gala Concert during the 2026/2027 season;
- given two subsequent international premieres; and
- professionally recorded for a future commercial release.
The winning composer is expected to attend the rehearsals, performances and recordings of their prize-winning work, and will be publicly honoured at the AMP Gala Concert in Montreal.
Altogether, the total prize package for the Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music is valued at over $200,000 CAD.
CMC Ontario – Concert Series
Deadline / rolling
Click here for info
Starting in 2023, The Ontario Region of the Canadian Music Centre is offering up to six $1,000 sponsorships each year, available to Associate Composers and new music performers, ensembles, and presenters, to produce a concert featuring at least 50% of music by Ontario Associate composers, allocated regionally in the following areas:
- Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, Kingston)
- Southern Ontario (Hamilton, Kitchener, Niagara)
- Western Ontario (London, Windsor)
- Central Ontario (Peterborough, Barrie, Owen Sound)
- Northern Ontario (North Bay, Sudbury, Manitoulin)
- Northwestern Ontario (Thunder Bay, Sault-Ste-Marie, Kenora)
CMC ON will promote the concerts via the CMC Ontario eBlast, our website, and social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). In return we ask that the concerts are billed as co-presentations providing equal billing to CMC ON on programs, website page about the concert, and any promotional materials using our logo. After the event, CMC ON will solicit a statement about the benefit of the support. Where possible, someone from CMC ON will attend.
While offering a source of new funds to areas historically deprived of new music performances and our help promoting concerts under this umbrella, this new paradigm of working has the potential to increase the number of concerts CMC ON presents each year, broaden our presence across the province, help us meet new people doing creative things, and help us better fulfill our provincial mandate and mission.
A specific number of sponsorships will be allocated to each area annually. Applications will be reviewed by staff as they are received until the funds for each area are committed.
CURRENT ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES:
Call for Artists
2025 2026 Season
ISC (Instrumental Society of Calgary) invites musicians to submit proposals for performances for the 25/26 concert season (Autumn 2025-Spring 2026). Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2025: ISC 2025-26 Submissions
For decades, ISC has presented concerts that have supported the vision of local musicians through collaborative programming. Offering the opportunity for performers to propose their own repertoire has encouraged musicians to share music that is personally meaningful, making for creative expression and special performances. The focus of ISC has been chamber music, a term with roots in Western Classical music describing a small group of musicians performing in a small space (or chamber, not a theatre or church). The intimacy created in this type of live experience has come to be a part of many genres and cultures: cafe culture, house concerts, digital formats like NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
Newly appointed co-Artistic Directors Jiajia Li and Laura Reid will be framing this upcoming season around explorations of chamber music, with plans for two series of concerts: Friday evening performances presenting larger ensembles and Sunday afternoon performances presenting solo performers or smaller ensembles. These options will allow for different dynamics for performers and audiences: the lively evening atmosphere of a social start to the weekend and the calm pace of Sunday. Although previous calls have asked for full details of repertoire for a proposed program, this year we are asking for two representative selections and a description of overall vision at this phase.
We welcome you to share this with anyone who might be interested in being featured in the upcoming season.
SUBMISSION FORM
This opportunity provides funding of up to $30,000 for emerging artist engagement projects in rural communities, including First Nations reserves and Metis Settlements, to cultivate the next generation of artists and address intergenerational gaps in professional development.
Projects must occur outside of Alberta’s major urban centres.
More information HERE.
Chalmers Performance Space Artist is Residence Program
Deadline / rolling
Click here for info
The CMC Short-term creative residencies are a rolling residency program for composers, ensembles, and production companies involved in the production or researching of Canadian Music in CMC’s Chalmers Performance Space in downtown Toronto. These self-directed residencies provide you or your organization with space and time in which to experiment and cultivate new works or research new avenues for creativity. Residencies take place during work hours, 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. Residencies may range from a few days up to 4 weeks (excluding weekends) and may take place at any time of the year subject to availability of the performance space.
Resident artists and ensembles benefit from access to CMC’s production facilities and knowledgeable staff who are available to provide technical support and assistance. In addition, you will have the opportunity to build connections, create networks, and share your work with the broader CMC community through artist talks, publications and/or livestreaming.
Chalmers Performance Space Artist is Residence Program
Deadline / rolling
Click here for info
The Canadian Music Centre in BC (CMC BC) is pleased to launch a new Artist in Residence program for the upcoming 2022/2023 season. Select artists (composers, performers, small ensembles) will be chosen as ‘Artists in Residence’ in CMC BC’s Murray Adaskin Salon.
These residencies are offered to artists involved in the production or researching of Canadian Music. The Canadian Music Centre in BC has always tried to support and encourage artists in our community and continues to do so with this investment in a private, creative working space to focus on your goals.
The AiR program is a flexible model to encourage experimentation and creativity. Basically you decide what you need to work on and we give you the space and time within which to do it.
CALLS FOR PAPERS:
CURRENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:
Alberta Music Travel Grant
This grant provides travel assistance to Alberta-based music companies, artists, and individuals to support the growth and professional development of their careers.
Alberta Grants Calendar
This calendar captures upcoming grant deadlines for funding available to arts organizations and artists in Alberta. We have provided public funders at the municipal, provincial, federal levels, among with private foundations that support the arts in Alberta.
Downtown Vibrancy Funding
The Downtown Vibrancy Fund provides funding to projects that support achieving the goals outlined in the Downtown Vibrancy Strategy.