KMTA Commissioned Composer Award

Kansas Music Teachers Association

2024 Commissioned Composer Award

On December 1, 2023, KMTA will begin accepting applications for the 2024 KMTA Commissioned Composer Award. 

The deadline to apply for the 2024 KMTA Commissioned Composer Award is January 9, 2024. 

Award information and eligibility is detailed below. Please contact the KMTA Composer Commissioning Chair, Dr. Lucy Tan, with any questions (lwtan516@gmail.com). 

Award information:

  • Premiere performance of a new work during the KMTA/MMTA Joint 2024 State Conference, DATE TBD—Fall 2024, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The performance may be recorded and will be followed by a live Q and A session.
  • Monetary prize of $1500, to be awarded after the completion of the premiere performance.
  • The winning composer will submit their commissioned work to the MTNA competition (at the national level) to compete for the Distinguished Composer of the Year award.
  • If the KMTA Commissioned Composer wins at the national level, their work will be performed at the 2025 MTNA National Conference, and they will receive a prize of $5000, to be presented following the performance at the National Conference.

Applicant eligibility:

  • Applicants must be current or former residents of the state of Kansas.
  • Applicants may be out-of-state students and those on temporary or long-term visas.
  • Applicants must be current legal residents of the United States.

Application procedures:

  • Composers will need to submit the following:
    • A current CV
    • Scores and recordings; up to three compositions, no longer than 20 minutes in cumulative length
  • Scores and CVs must be in PDF format; recordings must be in MP3 format.
  • All of the above should be uploaded to a shareable online folder (i.e. Dropbox, Google Drive). Email a link of the folder to the KMTA Commissioning Composer Chair, Dr. Lucy Tan (lwtan516@gmail.com) with “2024 KMTA Commissioned Composer Application” in the subject line.
  • The deadline for submissions will be January 9, 2024. 
  • A committee will review all submissions and notify applicants of the results. The selected Commissioned Composer will then present a proposed composition model and instrumentation (i.e. character work for solo piano, song cycle for voice and piano, small ensemble, etc.) to the committee.
  • MTNA and KMTA will not be responsible for defraying expenses incurred from composer’s travels to all KMTA and/or MTNA conference premieres. 
  • The winner will have their score and audio recording deposited at the MTNA Archives at the University of Cincinnati Libraries. The score and recording will not be returned. This is intended to encourage further performances of a commissioned work by making the score and recordings available through interlibrary loans. In an effort to protect the rights of the composers, the following statement will be affixed to the score:
    • Important notice: Reproduction of this score, in whole or part, by mechanical or handwritten means is prohibited. The composer holds all rights pertaining to the attached score, including performance rights. Permission to perform this work must be obtained from the composer. The Music Teachers National Association can assist with contacting the composer. Contact mtnanet@mtna.org or call (888)512-5278.
  • Additional questions regarding the above application procedures may be directed to Dr. Lucy Tan at lwtan516@gmail.com.