Announcing the 13th Annual ACDA-PA Choral Composition Competition

GENERAL INFORMATION 
  1. The Choral Composition Competition is open to composers of all ages.
  2. Composers must be a resident of Pennsylvania or currently enrolled as a student in a PA college or university.
  3. Entry deadline: July 1, 2025
  4. Winning composition award: $500.00
  5. Texts may be sacred or secular and can be in any language. An English translation should be included for any text that is not in English. Pronunciation guides may also be provided if needed.
  6. Compositions must be 3-5 minutes in length, scored for SATB (no divisi).  Compositions can be accompanied by piano or a cappella with the option of adding one obbligato instrument.
  7. Composition must be an original work (not an arrangement). The piece must have not been previously published, commissioned, or performed.
  8. Texts must be free from copyright restrictions, either public domain or written permission from the poet/copyright holder included with the application.
  9. Composers will retain the copyright of their compositions. 
  10. Previous winners may not participate for four years after the year that they have won.  (Example: The winner of 2023 may not submit to this competition until 2028.) 
Winning piece will be added and performed as part of the Reading Session for Self-Published Composers and will be provided and sung through by all choir directors in attendance at the 2025 ACDA-PA Summer Conference.  You may work with the R&R Chair to provide information for directors to have the ability to purchase the score if requested at a later date.  

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 
  1. All submissions must be sent via the form on the ACDA-PA website (www.acdapa.org/composition_contest) 
  2. All submissions must be pdf format. 
  3. Including an Mp3 of a midi mock-up is encouraged.
  4. All identifying marks must be removed from the score. Submission must be anonymous.
  5. The following will be considered ineligible:
    • Entries received after July 1, 2025 11:59:59 PM Eastern Standard Time
    • Incomplete Entries
    • Entries with composer identification on the scores (a pseudonym is allowed)
    • Entries which do not follow submission guidelines

EVALUATION OF COMPOSITIONS
  1. Entries will be judged by the Choral Composition Contest Committee of ACDA-PA which is composed of distinguished composers and conductors.
  2. The committee will judge blindly, receiving musical scores from the Choral Music Development Chair without composer identification. The name of the entrant will not be revealed to the committee until all their decisions have been submitted to the Choral Music Development Chair.
  3. The winning composition should show the unique and creative voice of the composer.
  4. The committee reserves the right to not present an award if the submitted compositions do not meet the expected standards.

NOTIFICATION OF THE RESULTS
  1. The winning composer will be notified via email on or before July 20, 2025.
  2. One winner will be selected to receive the $500.00 prize. Honorable mentions (no cash award) may also be named by the judges.
  3. A public announcement of the winner will be made on the ACDA PA website on or before July 30, 2025. The winning composer will be asked to provide biographical information for publicity purposes.
  4. A public acknowledgement will be made at the performance/premiere of the piece at the Summer Conference of ACDA-PA August, 2025 at West Chester University, and the winning composer is strongly encouraged to attend the conference.
  5. The composition will be premiered as part of a reading session directed by the R&R Chair for Self-Published Composers during the ACDA-PA Summer 2025.

2023 Winner Announced

ACDA-PA is pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Choral Composition Competition.  The piece will be premiered at the 2023 ACDA-PA Summer Conference by the "Choir for All" Honor Choir.

"Night" for SATB (divisi), a cappella
by Maira Myers

Maira Myers is a rising Senior at Messiah University. Although she has lived in Harrisonburg, Virginia for most of her life, she has come to Pennsylvania to pursue music education. Maira specializes mainly in voice and has always loved to sing in choirs. She is part of Concert Choir and Chamber Singers at Messiah University and has also sung in numerous choirs throughout her high school years, including district, honors, and state choir. Maira has always had a love and passion for composing music and has continued taking lessons under Dr. Richard Roberson. She is very thankful for the opportunity to continue composing and pursuing music. 

Program Notes:
The SATB choral piece "Night" originally came to Maira as she was looking out the window during a long late-night bus ride. Although everything was dark, she felt a sense of peace watching the stars and the passing fields and trees. Since the music came before the words on this occasion, Maira felt inspired to write her own lyrics for the piece. The words and the song aim to express night not as something to be afraid of, but rather as something to be in awe of for its beauty.
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Maira Myers

2022 Winners Announced

ACDA-PA is pleased to announce the following winning compositions in our 2022 competition.  The pieces will be premiered at the Summer Conference.
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​NON-STUDENT CATEGORY
"All Night I Could Not Sleep" for SATB divisi a cappella
by Laurel Luke Christensen

Laurel Luke Christensen (b. 1988) seeks to write music that reveals what is ineffable, but intimately relatable. Her compositions I Saw a Star and Dawn Will Break Upon Us won the Virginia Chorale and Siena College Choral Composition Competitions in May 2019 and March 2020 respectively. Her proposed choral work, Sanctuary, was selected as a runner-up for the ACDA Genesis Prize in October 2020. Laurel holds a BM and an MM in Music Education and has conducted Middle School, High School, and Community Choirs and taught Music Appreciation, AP Music Theory, and private voice and piano lessons to students of all ages. Originally from Colorado, she currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two sons.

STUDENT CATEGORY
"The Violet" for SATB and piano
by Maira Myers

Maira Myers is a rising Junior at Messiah University. Although she is originally from Harrisonburg, Virginia, she has come to Pennsylvania to pursue music education. Maira specializes mainly in voice and has always loved to sing in choirs. She is part of Concert Choir and Chamber Singers at Messiah University and has also sung in numerous choirs throughout her high school years, including district, honors, and state choir. Maira has always had a love and passion for composing music and recently started taking lessons under Dr. Richard Roberson. She is very thankful for the opportunity to continue composing and pursuing music. 
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Laurel Luke Christensen
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Maira Myers
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2020 ACDA-PA Composition Competition Winner
Congratulations to Geoffrey McKain, the 2020 ACDA-PA Composition Competition winner!! Geoff’s submission, “Close Thine Eyes” is a setting of a Roger Quilter text, composed for SATB choir and piano. The 2020 competition was open to undergraduate and graduate music students across the state. “Close Thine Eyes” will be premiered at an upcoming ACDA-PA event.

Geoffrey McKain, a 2018 graduate of Bethel Park High School, is a rising junior at Duquesne University studying music education. His primary instrument is voice, but he also plays piano and percussion. Geoffrey is currently the President of the university's ACDA chapter, and he also performs with the school's Voices of Spirit and Pittsburgh's Voces Solis. In high school, he performed with the PMEA All-State Choir for three consecutive years, as well as Pittsburgh's Junior Mendelssohn Choir his senior year. Geoffrey enjoys composing music and practicing conducting in his spare time.
ACDA-PA: The American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania
Independent voices joining to form a common theme.