A FRESHLY SQUEEZED CALL FOR SCORES

THE FIRST PRESS
SPRING 2027

Seeking unperformed a cappella works for SATB divisi voices of 3- 5 minutes in length for a Spring 2027 Premiere to accompany a performance of Saunder Choi’s Verum Corpus

QUEER RESILIENCE.
TRANSFORMATION. JOY.

Submissions should focus on themes of queer resilience, transformation, embodiment, and joy

THE COMMISSION

IOCSF invites composers to write a new, unperformed a cappella work for SATB divisi voices, 3 - 5 minutes in length. The winning piece will permiere alongside Saunder Choi’s Verum Corpus in May 2027.

Composers must provide evidence of copyright permission for all poetry, or utilize texts from the public domain.

PRIZE

$1,000

Awarded to the winning selection, plus a Spring 2027 premiere by the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco.

KEY DATES

SUBMISSIONS OPEN June 1, 2026

APPLICATION DEADLINE July 15, 2026

WINNER ANNOUNCED September 2026

FINAL SCORE DUE November 1, 2026

PREMIERE - SAN FRANCISCO May 23, 2027

PREMIERE - BERKELEY May 24, 2027

TWO WAYS TO SUBMIT

1. UNPERFORMED SCORES

  • A PDF of the full score

  • A MIDI recording of the full score

  • A short description of how the work relates to the concert theme (not to exceed 300 words)

  • Evidence of copyright permissions

2. WORK PROPOSAL

  • A project proposal outlining the proposed work, including a description of the proposed sound world and how the work relates to the concert theme (not to exceed 400 words)

  • A copy of the text to be set, along with evidence of copyright permissions

  • PDFs of 2 previously performed scores

  • Live or MIDI recordings of those previously performed works

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS

Send all materials as a single email to the address below by July 15, 2026