Call for Scores: 2026 Edward T. Cone Composition Institute
The New Jersey Symphony is now accepting applications for the eleventh annual Edward T. Cone Composition Institute. This multifaceted, tuition-free Institute is an opportunity designed to promote contemporary orchestral music by enhancing the careers of four emerging composers. Winning composers will have their music performed by the New Jersey Symphony and will participate in in-depth career development sessions with industry leaders.
Celebrated composer Steven Mackey, a music professor and director of graduate studies in composition at Princeton University, is the Institute director. Eric Jacobsen, a highly-regarded conductor deeply embedded in the new music scene, joins as the Institute’s guest conductor.
The Institute is open to university composition students and composers in the early stages of their professional careers. Composers selected for this tuition-free program will participate in a week of the following activities:
- Rehearsals and premiere performance of their work by the New Jersey Symphony in a public concert
- One-on-one and group coaching sessions with Institute Director Steven Mackey
- Career-development sessions on public speaking, music editing and networking skills
- Feedback sessions with music industry leaders, New Jersey Symphony musicians and staff
- Discussions of best practices for getting contemporary classical music funded, published and performed
The 2026 Cone Institute will take place July 13th - 18th in Princeton, culminating in a public performance at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, NJ on July 18th, 2026 at 7:30pm. The performance will be conducted by Eric Jacobsen. The Institute is presented in collaboration with the Princeton University Music Department.
Composers will receive housing and meals in Princeton. The New Jersey Symphony will also reimburse up to $250 of participants’ travel costs. The application deadline is Sunday, February 22, 2026.
EarShot is the first ongoing, systemic program for cultivating relationships between orchestras and composers across the Americas. In addition to its annual readings with the NYC-based American Composers Orchestra, EarShot works with an international network of orchestral partners each season to discover and develop composers whose work expands the definition of orchestral music in the Americas.
EarShot is partnering with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra on recruitment for this program. Selected composers join EarShot alumni in eligibility for future opportunities.
COMPOSITION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must submit an original composition that is no more than thirteen (13) minutes in duration. Eligible composition requirements include the following:
- Composition must be an orchestral work (no concerto soloists, vocalists or narrators) and instrumentation may not exceed the following: 3‐3‐3‐3 woodwinds (including standard doublings), 4‐3‐3‐1 brass, timpani, 3 percussion, harp, keyboard (piano or synthesizer) and strings (maximum: 12/10/8/6/4).
- Composition must have no prior professional performance or publication history. Compositions that have had university or conservatory performances, or readings by professional ensembles are eligible for submission.
- The submitted composition must have a title.
- All measures must be numbered in the score at the beginning of each line.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
To apply, composers must submit an application form by Sunday, February 22, 2026. Incomplete applications will not be evaluated. The required application components include the following:
- One-page resume
- Full original score in PDF form
- Handwritten scores will not be accepted. Scores must adhere to Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association guidelines.
- Program notes or a brief description of the composition
- Audio representation of the work, such as a MIDI mock-up or, if possible, a live orchestra reading
- One letter of recommendation (submitted by the recommender using this form)
For more information about the program, please visit: Edward T. Cone Composition Institute
For questions and further details email: larob@americancomposers.org.
Note: In order to participate, applicants must have the appropriate US visa or residency status to be present at Princeton University during the Cone Composition Institute dates, and must be at least 18 years of age.
Corporate gifts to match employee contributions are made by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Triton Container International Incorporated of North America, and Neiman Marcus.
Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, Office of Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
