Announcement
The 2026 Call for Scores will be posted soon!
In light of the success of the first edition, Art Music Society is excited to announce the 2025 Call for Scores for compositions to be included in the 2025-26 season of the AMS Chamber Music Series. Concerts will take place in the DC metropolitan area and performers will include both rising as well as established local and international artists featuring selected compositions alongside fundamental works from the Western canon.
Our Call for Scores is open to composers of all ages, genders, nationalities, religions, and backgrounds, and is designed to identify skilled and accomplished creators with an original voice, presenting works that showcase an exquisite compositional technique and deliver a uniquely rewarding experience, for both audiences and performers.
Selected composers will be offered the option to publish their works through the Art Music Society, which will be included in our New Artists catalogue. Moreover, selected works will be recorded, accompanied by commissioned program notes, and recordings will be made available to composers for inclusion in their portfolios.
In 2024, our panel selected five outstanding works—a goal we aim to replicate. However, since no vocal work was included last year, we will be selecting a total of six works this time, with the additional spot being reserved for a vocal composition.
Type
Call for scores (Collaborative works)
Eligibility
Open to everyone
Application Deadline
Application deadline has passed
Quick Links
Download the Call for Scores PDF
Scroll down to view application guidelines
View our panelists
Past editions
Submission guidelines:
- Open to all composers, without restrictions.
- The work should be a) a chamber music piece (e.g., piano trio, string duo, violin sonata), b) a piano duet (4-hands, 1 piano), or c) a lied for mezzo-soprano and piano. Our core ensemble includes violin, viola, cello, and piano (2, 1, 1, 1).
- Between 2 and 10 minutes in duration.
- Works featuring prepared piano are ineligible.
- Both single and multi-movement works are eligible; however, individual movements from larger works will not be considered.
- Submissions must be original works, not arrangements.
- Recorded, awarded, published and/or broadcast works are eligible.
- A written permission or license is required for vocal works that make use of texts not in the public domain.
- For selected works that are already published, the Art Music Society will purchase performance materials.
Submission deadline:
The submission deadline is April 30, 2025.
Application process:
Interested composers should submit a PDF score and audio or video recording (studio, live, or VST-rendered) via our website. In absence of recordings, notation files (Sibelius, Finale, etc.) will be accepted.
Application Fee:
The application fee is $15 per submission. Each composer may submit any number of entries. 100% of application fees will be used to cover AMS Concert Series performance costs (exclusively performances that will feature works selected through this contest), such as honoraria for performers and venue rental. A limited number of fee waivers will be granted—please contact us via email at calls@artmusicsociety.org to see if you qualify.
Selection process:
Scores will be examined by a panel of renowned professionals, which will include composers, performing artists, theorists, and musicologists, selecting works that:
- Showcase a unique voice.
- Make a bold statement, bringing to life something original and memorable.
- Blend well with the remaining works on the concert program.
- Concerts of the AMS Chamber Music Series will feature a blend of works from the canon, mainly piano trios, duos featuring piano and either violin or cello, as well as vocal works with piano accompaniment.
- Programs will include at least one major collaborative work (please see the 2024-25 season program as reference).
- Each concert might feature more than one selected New Composition.
Miscellaneous:
- The panel’s decisions are final.
- Please refrain from contacting us after the application deadline. We will get in touch with selected composers directly by May 15.
- Due to the foreseen large number of applications, we might be unable to provide feedback to composers whose works will not be selected.
- Selected composers are kindly invited to attend performances featuring their works, albeit at their own expense.
- 2024-25 concert programs:
Concert 1
- David Lancaster: Canzone Sospesa (winner of the 2024 Call for Scores)
- Arturo Marquez: Lejanía interior (Inner Distance)
- Samuel Zyman: Sonata for Cello and Piano
- Manuel Ponce: Estrellita (My Little Star), Mexican Serenade (arranged by Jascha Heifetz)
- Manuel Ponce: Sonata for Cello and Piano
Concert 2
- Astor Piazzolla: Primavera Porteña from Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (arranged for viola, cello, and piano)
- Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
- George Enescu: Concertstück
- Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114
Concert 3
- Angela Elizabeth Slater: Shades of Rain for Piano Trio
- Eric Estrada Valadez: Northampton’s Little Chilango for Violin and Piano (winners of the 2024 Call for Scores)
- Johannes Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99
- Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8
Concert 4
- Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio in C Major, Hob.XV:27
- Dániel Dobri: States of Matter (Víz, levegő, tűz, föld) for Piano Trio
- Roydon Tse: Starscape for Piano Trio (winners of the 2024 Call for Scores)
- Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Panelists
