MATA Festival 2027 — Call for Submissions (early-career composers)

MATA, New York's festival for early-career composers, is taking submissions for its 30th-year edition in May 2027, with selected pieces performed live by festival ensembles — composers can also perform their own work as a soloist or alongside ensemble players. There's no entry fee mentioned, but also no stipend or travel support unless a piece is chosen for a commission; the value here is a professional performance and festival exposure. Any style is welcome, with an emphasis on acoustic instruments and live performance, and MATA explicitly encourages applications from composers of colour, LGBTQIA+ composers, immigrants, disabled composers and those without institutional affiliation. "Early-career" isn't defined by a hard rule; you explain in your artist statement why you consider yourself early-career and how the opportunity would move your career forward. Applying means submitting a bio and works list, that statement, and two work samples, each with a working link to audio or video (and a score, if there is one), plus the date it was written, full instrumentation, any tech or percussion needs, a stage plot, the running time and program notes. Submissions are link-only, no file uploads, and the links must work for anyone without a login or download request, since broken or restricted links are disqualifying. The form can't be saved partway through, so have everything ready before you start. You can also opt in to be considered for MATA's shorter MATAthons or MATA Presents events. The deadline is 15 November 2026, with an outside panel of guest artists choosing the program and decisions due by February 2027; the published criteria don't go beyond that.