Our 2025 Composition Program Application deadline is January 7th, 2025.
Information about attending our festival as an auditor will be available in Spring 2025.
Watch our Season 10 Promo Video for an inside look at our festival and what's in store this season!
Information about attending our festival as an auditor will be available in Spring 2025.
Watch our Season 10 Promo Video for an inside look at our festival and what's in store this season!
Connecticut Summerfest is a festival for composers, by composers! We foster fulfilling, sustainable artistic relationships and celebrate diverse composition styles, backgrounds, and perspectives. The Connecticut Summerfest Composition Program offers talented emerging composers meaningful collaborative experiences working one-on-one with our ensembles-in-residence and composition faculty. Each festival composer receives a live premiere of their newly composed piece by one of our three professional ensembles, as well as a high-quality multi-camera video in a dedicated recording session. Composers have the opportunity to realize their vision for this new work through a special consultation with our recording engineers, Kinsmen Sound Studio, prior to their recording session. Each new work is thoughtfully prepared through three dedicated rehearsals with each ensemble, and composers have the ability to collaborate with their ensemble throughout the compositional process. During Connecticut Summerfest, festival composers receive four private, 1-hour lessons with our renowned composition faculty. Composition seminars, guest lectures, and a presentation from our publishing partner, Just a Theory Press, provide composers with valuable feedback and industry expertise. Join our growing community of artists, composers, performers, and sound artists this season!
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Everyone was eager to make meaningful and lasting relationships with one another, and I’ve come out of CTSF 2024 with so much new knowledge of the musical and business aspects of composition. I am so grateful to have been a part of this experience.
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Tuition for Connecticut Summerfest 2025 is $1375 USD and includes all meals and housing for the duration of the festival, as well as the following composer benefits:
- Live premiere of newly composed work by one of three professional ensembles-in-residence
- High-quality multi-camera video of newly composed work in a dedicated recording session
- Four private, 1-hour lessons with our world-class composition faculty
- Dedicated rehearsal time with our ensembles-in-residence
- Enriching guest lectures with leading music specialists
- Feedback from composition faculty and other Connecticut Summerfest composers at composition seminars
- Join a growing network of artists, composers, performers, and sound artists
- One-on-one consultation with recording engineers Kinsmen Sound Studio regarding the festival composer's vision for the multi-camera video recording of their new work
Connecticut Summerfest provides the dedicated space and time for ensembles and composers to explore, experiment, and collaborate in a way that is rare across our field. It was truly an honor to have the opportunity to work so closely with incredible young creators on new works for our ensemble. The pieces grew and morphed across the course of the week, resulting in a final product the we were all incredibly proud of. I would recommend this festival to all contemporary music creators who are interested in collaborating on the deepest of levels.
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The application fee for the Connecticut Summerfest 2024 Composition Program is pay-what-you-wish! We suggest contributing $30 (our former Early Bird Application fee), and you can learn how your application fee is used by our organization in our Application FAQ. No composer will be turned away for an inability to pay an application fee. Please email applications (at) ctsummerfest.org or use our contact form with any questions you may have.
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In support of our mission to amplify the voices of composers of color and gender diverse composers, Connecticut Summerfest offers two types of partial scholarships to accepted 2025 festival composers: the Gender Diversity Scholarship and Composers of Color Scholarship.
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This partial scholarship is open to composers of historically underrepresented genders (i.e., trans men, all women including trans women, non-binary folks, etc.) and historically underrepresented sexes (i.e., cisgender women, intersex folks, etc.)
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This partial scholarship is open to composers of racial and ethnic minority groups (i.e., Black/African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Indigenous/Native American, Hispanic, Latine, Middle Eastern or North African).
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- of racial and ethnic minority groups
- of historically underrepresented genders (i.e., trans men, all women including trans women, non-binary folks, etc.) and historically underrepresented sexes (i.e., cisgender women, intersex folks, etc.) - who love to collaborate and build lasting artistic relationships - who are curious and kind - who are open-minded to different musical styles and backgrounds - who will contribute to a supportive and collaborative environment |
We've partnered with music publisher Just a Theory Press! Our 2025 festival composers will receive a lecture from Joshua DeVries, Founder and Creative Director, on modern day publishing and engraving. Additionally, festival composers will receive a coupon code to purchase scores from Just a Theory Press in the future.
More About Just a Theory Press
Just a Theory Press is a music publishing company specializing in collaboration with living composers and providing a range of music and collections for performers and the wider musical community. In addition to its extensive catalog, Just a Theory provides engraving, preparation, and printing services to some of the top ensembles and composers in the country. Learn more on the Just a Theory Press website.
Our 2025 Auditing Program will open for registration in Spring 2025.
The Connecticut Summerfest Auditor Program allows composers to expand their creative community while engaging in many meaningful educational and artistically exploratory sessions. This program is meant for composers who cannot afford our current tuition cost, cannot add a new piece to their spring compositional schedule, or cannot attend our entire week-long festival. Accessibility is important to us, which is why we have recently embarked on our long-term Tuition Free Initiative as well. |
