Carillon Composition Competition

sponsored by the Stanton Memorial Carillon Foundation

Purpose:

To encourage the writing of original carillon compositions by young composers.

Prizes:

• One cash award of $500.
• Premiere performance of the winning composition on October 24 at the ISU Carillon Festival 2026.
  Upon acceptance of the award, it is understood that the rights for the premiere performance will be granted by the composer to the ISU Carillon Festival 2026.

Composition Requirements:

• The submitted work shall be an original composition, and for a four-octave carillon (C3 to C7), with a two-octave pedal board (C3 to C5).
• The composition may be a solo, a duet for one carillon, or a work for carillon with one or more other instruments or chorus.
• A transcription or arrangement will not be accepted.
• The composition shall be 4 to 7 minutes in length.
• The submitted work shall never have been published, awarded a prize in another competition, or performed publicly.
• A composer may submit more than one work.

Eligibility:

The composer must not have been born before October 23, 1991, and must not have been awarded a prize in the ISU Carillon Composition Competition.

Judges:

• Povl Christian Balslev, Michael Golemo, and Tin-Shi Tam.

The judges reserve the right not to award a prize if the submitted compositions are not of a satisfactory level. The decision of the judges is final.

Instructions for Submission:

The composition and an audio rendering of your composition must be submitted by September 15, 2026.

Composition Submission Guidelines

• Submit your composition as a PDF file.
• Name the PDF file using only the title of your composition. Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the file.
• Do not include the composer's name on the composition.
• The submitted composition must be legible.

Audio Rendering Submission Guidelines

• Submit an audio rendering of your composition in MP3 format.
• Name the MP3 file using only the title of your composition. Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the file.
• The audio rendering of the composition is for reference only. The choice of instrumentation is at the discretion of the composer.

Submit your composition and the audio file using this submission form.

For more information, call (515) 294-2911, or e-mail: tstam@iastate.edu

Winning compositions of previous competitions: