GCNA Franco Carillon Composition Contest

Every two years, the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America runs this contest to add new, playable music to the carillon repertoire, and it's free to enter. You submit one original solo composition — any length, though most entries run three to seven minutes — written for a standard four-octave carillon (roughly C to C4, skipping low C♯) with up to a two-octave pedalboard; pieces for smaller three- or two-octave instruments are also accepted, and notes outside the main range are fine as long as you supply substitutions. The work must be unpublished, unperformed and not previously awarded a prize, and work created wholly or substantially by AI isn't eligible.

Rewards are modest but real: $2,000 for first prize, $1,000 for second, and a $150 performance award for additional pieces the jury singles out, each paired with a world premiere at the 2027 GCNA Congress, publicity and possible publication by the Guild. There's no cash outlay required from entrants and no match funding involved.

To apply, you anonymize your score, complete a short AI-use declaration, and email both to the contest address along with your contact details — no online form. A seven-person jury from the Franco Committee judges entries on how useful the piece would be to carillonneurs: how well it plays on the instrument, originality and overall musical interest. The deadline is 1 November 2026, with results announced the following March.