the cortona prize

About

The Cortona Sessions for New Music and the International Foundation for Contemporary Music invite composers to submit scores for consideration for The Cortona Prize. The Cortona Prize will be awarded to one or more composers whose work demonstrates particular skill and innovation.

The goal of the Sessions is to foster community around contemporary music by facilitating long-term collaboration among Sessions participants.

The Cortona Prize is an invitation into a wonderful group of musicians we hope will become collaborators for life. In the spirit of the Sessions, we strongly encourage the Cortona Prize winner to attend the upcoming Sessions in the Netherlands, which will take place in the summer of 2026.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Composers must be age 18 and above as of June 1, 2026 to be eligible for consideration. Submitted works may be up to 15 minutes in length; if a longer multi-movement work is submitted, select movements may be performed. Works may be composed for any combination of instruments represented by the 2026 Cortona Sessions performance faculty. SEE BELOW FOR A FULL SET OF RULES AND PROCESSES.

PRIZE DETAILS

Faculty will select a small number of Cortona Prize Finalists; all finalists will be offered immediate acceptance to the 2026 Cortona Sessions, should they wish to participate. One work will receive The Cortona Prize, and the composer of that work will be offered immediate acceptance to the 2026 Cortona Sessions as well as a full tuition scholarship. The winning composition will be performed and recorded (video and audio) by the Cortona Collective Ensemble during the 2026 Cortona Sessions.

  • Application Fee:  pay-what-you-can ($25 suggested; amount paid does not affect prize consideration in any way)
    Submission Deadline: Extended to January 5, 2026
    Notification/Award Date: On or before January 25, 2026

    HOW TO APPLY 

    Applications are due by January 5, 2026

    Please complete the application using the button below.

    Application requirements:

    • General personal information

    • Link(s) to PDFs of scores where appropriate, and/or link(s) to any other means by which you communicate information to your performers (audio, video, etc). ******PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK PERMISSIONS ON LINKS TO FILES. FILE LINKS THAT ARE NOT PUBLICLY VIEWABLE WILL LEAD TO IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION*******

    • Optional: Recordings of any kind may be submitted as additional supplementary materials, but are not required. MIDI recordings are also permissible, but are not required.

    PROCESS

    Scores will be distributed to a panel made up of Cortona Sessions faculty and outside evaluators, who will select all winners. Cortona Prize Finalists and the Cortona Prize winner will be notified by email on or before January 25, 2026, and results will also be posted online.

    Feedback will be given upon request.

    INSTRUMENTATION

    Any combinations of the listed instruments are welcome [duo minimum]; please note restrictions below. Submitted works that do not follow these guidelines will be automatically disqualified. Duo is the minimum ensemble size. Works must be playable via the combination of performers listed here. Works with electronics are eligible, but works for solo + electronics will be considered as solo and will not be accepted.

    voice: Christie Finn (faculty soprano), Alexandra Porter (soprano)
    flute:  Sarah Brady (BMOP; Boston Conservatory)
    clarinet:  Gregory Oakes (Iowa State University)
    saxophone:  Geoffrey Deibel (Florida State University / h2 Quartet)
    violin:  MingHuan Xu (Roosevelt University / Duo Diorama)
    cello:  Mick Stirling (Amsterdam Conservatory)
    piano:  Winston Choi (Roosevelt University / Duo Diorama)
    percussion: Michael Compitello (Arizona State University; New Morse Code)

    Instrumentation restriction guidelines:

    • FLUTE: C flute, piccolo, and alto flute are permissible; bass flute is not permissible.

    • SAXOPHONE: Works featuring tenor or bari sax may be submitted, but may or may not be eligible for performance at the Sessions (consultation will be held with faculty about instrument availability if work is selected as a finalist).

    • PERCUSSION: only works including the instruments listed here, and/or small percussion, and/or body percussion are eligible. Works that call for instruments not listed on the linked document will not be accepted. Works that require more than one percussionist to perform will not be accepted.

    • ELECTRONICS: Works with fixed media and/or live electronics are eligible. Must be achievable within a 45-minute sound check WITHOUT the composer present. Video is also possible. Electronics must be realizable in 2 channel stereo mixes. Should the piece be selected for performance at the Cortona Sessions, any special equipment and microphones other than small and large diaphragm condensers must be provided by the composer. Works for solo + electronics will be considered as solo and will not be accepted.

    RULES

    1. Composers must be age 18 and above as of June 1, 2026 to be eligible for consideration.

    2. Submitted works may be up to 15 minutes in length. Single or multiple movements from a longer multi-movement work may be submitted, but the total length of submitted movements must be under 15 minutes.

    3. Works must be composed for any combination of instruments represented by the 2026 Cortona Sessions performance faculty, must be playable by the forces of the 2026 Cortona Collective, and must follow instrumentation guidelines. A work that requires multiple players of any instrument will not be accepted. Submitted works that do not follow instrumentation guidelines will be automatically disqualified.

    THE PRIZE

    • All Cortona Prize finalists will be offered immediate acceptance to the 2026 Cortona Sessions, should they wish to participate.

    • One work will receive The Cortona Prize, and the composer of that work will be offered immediate acceptance to the 2026 Cortona Sessions as well as a full tuition scholarship. 

    • The winning composition will be performed and recorded (audio and video) by the Cortona Collective Ensemble. 

    • Winners of the Cortona Prize may be offered opportunities to compose new works for the Cortona Collective in the future.

  • 2025: Corie Rose Soumah
    winning piece: States of Intermeshing: xi. Épilogue (flute, vln, cello, piano, electronics)
    Runner Up: Tomasz Skweres, Sieben Affekte
    Honorable Mention: Matthew Schultheis, Omniscience

    2024: Aaron Israel Levin
    winning piece:     Videogame Vespers (vln/electronics)

    2023: Christian Quiñones
    winning piece:     Loud Music for Quiet Places (cl/vln/vlc/pno)

    2022: Paul Novak
    winning piece:     prisms and mirrors (pierrot sextet)

    2020: Kevin Kay
    winning piece:     duality ii (fl/cl/vln/vlc/pno/electronics)

    2019: Annika Socolofsky
    winning piece:     Don’t Say a Word (pierrot)

    2018:  Tonia Ko
    winning piece:      Reaction (Axis III) (fl/pno)

    2017:  Pascal LeBoeuf
    winning piece:      Obliquely Wrecked (vln/vlc/pno)

    2016:  Viet Cuong
    winning piece:      Wax and Wire (cl/vln/vlc/pno)
    2nd Prize:  Xinyang Wang
    Honorable Mentions:  
    Turkar Gasimzada, George N. Gianopoulos, Greg Steinke, Mark Wolf

    2015:  Bin Li
    winning piece:      Fuzhou, 1860 (vln/pno)
    commissioned piece:      Concetto Spaziale 5 (vln/vlc)

    2014:  Dave Reminick
    winning piece:      Consort (saxophone quartet)
    commissioned piece:      Bird Songs (fl/cl/sax/vln/vc/pno)

Back to Programs Page
Apply Now