Now accepting submissions! Deadline August 15, 2022. The winner will be announced by September 15, 2022. The winning composition will be performed at the 2023 ACDA National Conference to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio February 22-25, 2023.
About the Competition
The ACDA Brock Competition for Professional Composers is an outgrowth of the American Choral Directors Association’s Raymond Brock Commission, which honors the work of Raymond W. Brock, who served as ACDA’s administrative assistant from 1987 to his death in 1991. The objectives of the competition for professional composers are three-fold:
- To acknowledge and reward outstanding composers in early, mid, or late career
- To encourage choral composition of the highest caliber
- To further promote composer activity at ACDA conferences
The winner of the composition will be awarded a $5,000 cash prize, a complimentary conference registration, a complimentary table at the conference composers’ fair, and a performance of the winning work on the main stage by a choral ensemble selected by the conference committee.
Eligibility:
- Composers must be members of ACDA. To learn more about ACDA membership categories, Join ACDA
- There is no age limit for applicants, however, composers must not be current students (undergraduate or graduate) at the time of the conference performance, which will be in February 2023.
- Submitted works must not be published, self-published, or publicly marketed but may have been previously performed or premiered.
- Composers may submit one work per competition year.
- All voicings and difficulty levels will be considered.
- Works may be unaccompanied or accompanied, and may include additional instrumentation. Due to performance constraints, works with full orchestra or similar forces will likely not be viable.
- Due to performance time constraints, works between three and seven minutes in length will receive priority consideration.
- Composers who have received the Brock commission or a prior Brock Prize are not eligible to apply.
Submission Guidelines:
- Provide a score in PDF form that has the composer’s name removed from the document. You will need to upload this file in your application.
- Label the file Title of Work.pdf
- Composers name must NOT be present on any part of the file submission
- Provide an MP3 performance recording or a MP3 midi file of the piece. You will need to upload this file with your application.
- Label the MP3 Title of Work.mp3.
- Composers name must NOT be present on any part of the file submission
- Fill out your submission application. CLICK HERE to begin your application.
- All submissions must be received by 11:59pm CDT on August 15, 2022. Late submissions will not be considered for any reason. Please consider the deadline when preparing your submission to ensure you have time to address any technical support questions or issues that may arise.
For questions or technical support, please email Brandon A. Boyd at .
Competition Winners
2020 – I Am the Wind by Elaine Hagenberg
Premiered at the 2021 ACDA National Conference.
Announcement of 2020 Award Winner
2018 – In the Middle by Dale Trumbore
Performed by the Aeolians of Oakwood University at the 2019 ACDA National Conference.
Announcement of 2018 Award Winner
