ACDA has maintained an ongoing commitment to choral composition for more than five decades. In 2022, ACDA expanded this commitment to have a positive impact on choral music through the creation of new works and support of new voices.
- Award amounts for the Brock Prizes for Professional Composers and for Student Composers have been increased to re-establish those prizes as some of the most substantial awards in choral composition.
- The composition awarded the Brock Prize for Student Composers will be premiered at all six ACDA region conferences.
- The prizes will only be available to ACDA members in order to ensure that prize money and benefits are reinvested directly in members and their work.
- A new program, a Focus Competition designed to address identified gaps in repertoire needs of ACDA members and their ensembles, is being created.
ACDA Composer Members
ACDA members interested in composition are strongly encouraged to add “Composition” as an Activity (Primary, or Other) in their ACDA member profile at acda.org. Simply log in to your account and update your profile.
Awards & Commissions
New & Open Now: ACDA’s Composition Focus Prize
The Focus Competition is structured to meet identified gaps in repertoire needs of ACDA members and their ensembles. A total of $6,000 in prizes will be awarded each year. The 2023 focus area will be works for SSAA and TTBB choirs. Competition opens October 1, 2022 and closes January 15, 2023. Click here to learn more and submit.
Raymond W. Brock Competition for Student Composers (awarded biennially)
Raymond W. Brock Memorial Commission (awarded annually)
ACDA Pearl Prize (2021-22)
Genesis Prize: A Composer/Poet Response (2020)
Diverse Voices Collaborative Grant (2019)
Online Choral Composer Communities
The American Choral Composers Facebook group is the primary place for American Choral Composers to network, discuss, crowd-source information, as well as hearing news, announcements, and opportunities.
The New Choral Music Facebook group is an invaluable place for composers to share scores, audio, or video with each other and with choral conductors looking for new music.
Conferences
National ACDA conferences provide opportunities for composers to hear top-level choral performances, meet other choral musicians and composers, network with conductors, attend composition-related interest sessions, and exhibit in the Composer Fair. Region and state conferences also provide a variety of similar opportunities in a more localized context.
Publications
Choral Journal articles help choral composers stay aware of current thinking, research, and trends. Periodic articles or even entire issues also focus on aspects of choral composition.
