About the Competition
NAfME is seeking original music by student composers for featured performance at the 2022 NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles event. Teachers and students are invited to submit original student compositions for Saxophone Quartet or Concert Band. Cash prizes will be awarded to winners and honorable mentions.
Students in elementary school, secondary school, college, and graduate school are eligible to submit compositions. Compositions submitted that fall outside of the orchestral or chamber instrumentation guidelines will be adjudicated but will not be eligible for awards or for performance.
Up to 13 selected composers will receive cash awards, thanks to the generous support of the European American Musical Alliance (Dr. Philip Lasser, president). All entrants will receive written evaluations of their compositions.
All entrants will receive written evaluations of their compositions.
How to Apply
- Applications are now closed
- Applications closed April 9, 2021, at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
- Read testimonials from past winners
- Questions? Contact: Programs@nafme.org
The virtual performance of the winning compositions from the 2020 Student Composers Competition with the award-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet took place on March 29 to close out Music In Our Schools Month®. View recording.
2020 Student Composition Winners:
K-8
Winner
Gianna Reed of Hartly, Delaware
for the piece, When Spring Comes
- Teacher, Blayne Salerni
- School, Providence Creek Academy
Honorable Mention
Jackson Laird of Columbus, Georgia
for the piece, Jig
- Teacher, Samuel Brown
- School, Rainey McCullers School of the Arts
Jasper Zimmerman of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
for the piece, Swing State
- Teacher, Jonathan Riss
- School, Farragut Middle School
High School
Winner
Noah Stein of Guilford, Connecticut
for the piece, Riparian Reeds
- Teacher, Robert Smith
- School, Hopkins School
Thomas Edgar of West Chicago, Illinois
for the piece, Spring Awakens
- Teacher, James Kull
- School, St. Charles East High School
Honorable Mention
Anthony Nemeth of Croydon, Pennsylvania
for the piece, Trichotomy
- Teacher, Keith Krelove
- School, Harry S. Truman High School
Jacob Evarts of Locust Grove, Georgia
for the piece, Legend
- Teacher, Heather Miller
- School, Locust Grove High School
Krishna Mandal of Benicia, California
for the piece, Pacific Voyage
- Teacher, Patrick Martin
- School, Benicia High School
Stephen Guerra of SI, New York
for the piece, Restlessness
- Teacher, Joseph Loposky
- School, Xaverian High School
Collegiate
Winner
James Probst of Lawrence, Kansas
for the piece, Under the Twinkling Sky
- School, Kansas State University
Honorable Mention
Noah Green of Granville, Ohio
for the piece, Watercolors
- School, Ohio Wesleyan University
Rishubh Thaper of Flemington, New Jersey
for the piece, City Vibes
- School, Stanford University
Rishubh Thaper of Flemington, New Jersey
for the piece, Nachtmusik
- School, Stanford University
*Previously published works are not eligible for submission in the competition.
*Submission implies permission for NAfME to perform and record all selected works.
