2024 Applications Open for the San Francisco Conservatory's Emerging Black Composers Project

The winning composer will write a work for the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as receiving a cash prize of $15,000

Applications are now open for the third annual edition of the Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP), which is run by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) — in partnership with the San Francisco Symphony.

The winner will receive a commission, the world premiere of which will be given by the San Francisco Symphony and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. The composer will also receive a cash prize of $15,000, mentorship from Salonen as well as SFCM Music Director Edwin Outwater and Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, the resident conductor of engagement and education at SFS and chair of the EBCP selection committee.

Launched in 2020, the EBCP is a ten-year project designed to foreground the work of emerging Black composers under the age of 35. The original goal of the program was to commission ten new works in ten years. However, it now seems likely that the number of new works will be much higher: in the 2020 round, three additional composers were commissioned alongside the winner.

The competition is open to Black American composers who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Applicants should have completed a degree in composition or performance, and should be no older than 35.

You can find out more and apply here. To hear past EBCP winners discussing their experience with the project, watch the video below.