Applications Open for Young Concert Artists 2025 Composer-in-Residence Program

Applications to the program for emerging composers aged between 20 and 28 will close on January 20, 2025 

Founded in 1994, the YCA Composer-in-Residence Program is designed to discover and support up-and-coming composers and to provide opportunities for collaboration with outstanding performers. 

Over the course of three years, the successful candidates will receive three commissions totaling $18,000 ($6,000 each) and join the YCA roster with a minimum three-year comprehensive management contract. 

The two debut commissions will be written for and in collaboration with a current YCA artist. Additionally, a YCA Alumni Commission will be written for and in collaboration with a YCA alumnus.

Following the first premiere performances, YCA will also secure up to three additional artists of the same instrumentation from the YCA cohort to perform the works. 

The management contract will involve artist promotion, industry networking, as well as publicity materials and services, travel arrangements, professional development, and educational residency experience. A YCA alumnus will also provide ongoing mentorship and career guidance. 

Applicants must be between 20 and 28 years of age as of March 31, 2025, and must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

The applications will be reviewed by a panel of leading figures in contemporary music, including YCA alumni, performers, and composers.

To apply, click here. The application deadline is January 20, 2025. 

Composers associated with YCA have been recognized with accolades including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Career Advancement Award, a GRAMMY Award, The Grawemeyer Award for Music, a Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, over twenty ASCAP awards, and many more. 

Commissions have come from performers such as Evelyn Glennie, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne Akiko Meyers, and Jeremy Denk; and from orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Winston-Salem Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Since the inception of the YCA Composer-in-Residence program, the YCA has supported the careers of composers including Dan Coleman, Kevin Puts, Kenji Bunch, Mason Bates, Daniel Kellogg, Benjamin C.S. Boyle, Andrew Norman, Chris Rogerson, David Hertzberg, Tonia Ko, Katherine Balch, Saad Haddad, Nina Shekhar, and Alistair Coleman.