CMA Composition Competition 2026

Composition Competition 2026 – VOCAL WORKS

Hardly anything is as magical as the moment of artistic inspiration. Therefore, it’s best not to let it pass and to immediately put one’s ideas onto paper.

A joint project of the Carinthian Music Academy (CMA) and the Gustav Mahler Private University in Klagenfurt.
The Carinthian Music Academy (CMA) initiates an inspiring platform with the new composition competition, offering space for young and contemporary composers to create innovative works and further develop their musical signature. With this competition, we aim to enrich the diversity of the musical landscape and to specifically promote the creation of qualified specialist literature.

The CMA Composition Competition is intended to be held annually, with each year focusing on a different genre or ensemble. This diversity not only supports the development of new artistic forms of expression but also strengthens the visibility and recognition of young composers on their path to the professional music world. By publicly performing the winning works, we bring these new compositions closer to a broad audience and promote a lively dialogue between artists and listeners.

For many years, the CMA has been passionately dedicated to supporting young musicians.
While the 2025 competition focused on Brass Band composition, the 2026 edition will continue the series with an emphasis on vocal and choral works.

Aim of the Competition
The CMA Composition Competition is open to all composers who wish to create a work for choir or vocal ensemble. The aim is to promote innovative, original, and expressive compositions that contribute to the development of contemporary choral literature and inspire new impulses in the field of vocal music.

Competition Details 2026
Theme: Vocal Works / Choral Works

Registration: from March 2026
Submission deadline: from May until 31 October 2026 (latest)

Jury evaluation: November 2026 to January 2027

Awards & Performance:
Information on the awarding of the winning works and their public performance as part of a concert will be announced in due course.

Artistic Openness & Innovation
The competition is conceived as an open platform for contemporary composition in the vocal and choral field. The stylistic range of submitted works is deliberately unrestricted. Diverse aesthetic approaches, individual artistic voices, and personal musical languages are expressly welcome.

The innovative character of the composition is the central evaluation criterion. Innovation may manifest in various ways—for example in musical language, the treatment of text, sound, form, structure, or in the relationship between tradition and the present. What is essential is that an independent artistic approach is clearly recognisable and that something new is created.

Text Requirements
Submitted compositions must be based on and set to music a literary text.

For this purpose, selected texts will be provided, chosen in cooperation with:

• the Robert-Musil-Institut für Literaturforschung / Carinthian Literature Archive
• the Department of Literary Studies at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
• as well as contemporary authors from the Carinthian literary scene

 

Five different literary texts will be available for selection. The aim is to promote the musical setting of contemporary literature and to foster a vivid dialogue between music and text.

Provided Texts
For the 2026 competition, the following literary works are available in German (D), Slovenian (SLO), and English (E):

• Bienen – Tara Meister (D)
• allegro / allegro – Tara Meister (D, E)
• Die jüngste Zeit / in recent times – Verena Gotthardt (D, E)
• Horizont und Tellerrand / Rob krožnika in obzorde – Stefan Feinig (D, SLO)
• vater-bunker-unser / oče-bunker-naš / father-bunker-our – Dominik Srienc (D, SLO, E)

The texts will be available for download here by April 28 at the latest.

Artistic Approach to the Texts
The approach to the literary material is intentionally open and is understood as a process of artistic transformation:

Selection of meaningful units:
The texts do not need to be set in full. Individual sections, meaningful units, or excerpts may be selected.

Flexible use of text:
Single lines, phrases, or even individual words may serve as compositional material.

One text per work:
Each composition must be based on only one of the provided texts.

Binding use of the source material:
No additional or original texts may be added. All textual material must be taken exclusively from the selected literary source.

Experimental approach:
A free and experimental engagement with the text is explicitly encouraged. The setting may be understood as an artistic adaptation – a transformation of literature into a musical medium.

Formal freedom:
The original structure of the literary text (e.g. verse form, dramaturgy, layout) is not binding.
Composers are free to develop their own musical form and restructure the text accordingly.

Source reference:
The selected text source must be clearly indicated in the submission (e.g. “Text: excerpt from …”).

The complete original texts will be provided to all participants.

Formal Requirements for the Composition

Instrumentation:
A cappella choir, mixed choir (SSAATTBB) – maximum 8 voices
(Choral work; solo passages within the choir are permitted, but purely solo works are excluded)

Duration:
approx. 5–6 minutes

Language:
German, Slovenian, or English

Level of difficulty:
semi-professional to professional

Performance practice:
The composition must be performed a cappella.

Originality & Premiere

Only new works may be submitted.

 

The composition must not have been previously performed or published.
The awarded works will be premiered as part of the award ceremony.

Prize Money
Information on the prize money will be announced shortly.

 Participation Conditions

• No participation fee: Entry to the competition is free of charge.

• Target group: The competition is open to all composers, regardless of nationality or age.

• Works per person: Each composer may submit only one work.

• Originality: The work must be unpublished and must not have received an award in any other competition.

• Anonymity: The score must not contain any indication of the composer’s identity.

 

Submission Materials

• Score as PDF

• Short work description as PDF

• Audio file (demo recording or MIDI)

• Fully completed online submission form

 

 Submission Conditions:
The submitted work must be unpublished and independently developed. It must not have been previously published or awarded in any other competition. The anonymity of the submissions must be ensured; therefore, no hints of authorship should be visible either on the score or on the individual parts.

 

Contact and Further Information
For further inquiries and information, the CMA team is available.
Contact person at CMA: Michael Mayer – michael.mayer@die-cma.at