Applications Open for the Emerging Black Composers Project for 2025

Open to Black American composers aged 35 or under, this award offers a $15,000 commission and a premiere with the San Francisco Symphony

Launched in 2020, the annual Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP) aims to shine a spotlight on emerging Black American composers and is hosted in collaboration with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and San Francisco Symphony (SFS).

The first-prize winner of the EBCP will receive a $15,000 cash award and the commission of a new work, which will be premiered by the SFS during the 2026/27 seasons. In addition, the winner will also receive mentorship from SFCM Music Director Edwin Outwater, and Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, the resident conductor of engagement and education at the SFS and chair of the EBCP selection committee.

Those who enter for the award will also be considered for the Cabrillo Emerging Black Composers Prize, a separate award offered in association with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. This winner will receive a cash prize for the composition of a new five- to seven-minute symphonic work, and this piece will be premiered at the festival in an upcoming season.

All Black American composers (U.S. citizens) who are aged 35 or under during 2024 are eligible to apply, provided they have completed a degree program in composition or performance. Applicants should submit three scores, recordings, and a resume by February 1, 2025. More information is available here.

In 2025, the jury comprises Kedrick Armstrong, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Kalena Bovell, Daphne Burt, Cristian Măcelaru, D. Riley Nicholson, Shawn Okpekbolo, Edwin Outwater, Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Nina Shekhar, Trevor Weston, and Jeffrey Zeigler.  

Previous winners of the EBP include Trevor Weston, Jens Ibsen, Xavier Muzik, and Tyler Taylor.

"As the EBCP continues and expands, our talented laureates have been building on the gains made as a result of participation in our program and we couldn't be more delighted," said Bartholomew-Poyser. "We are so excited to continue lifting up Black composers and their music with our Michael Morgan prize, and our continually growing additional collaboration prizes. As we start a new year we hope to see the composer application base broaden and welcome more composers from even more diverse genres of music and areas of the country."