Nief-Norf Summer Festival — International Call for Scores (2027 cycle)

Nief-Norf's call for scores picks one piece per category each year to be rehearsed and performed at its Summer Festival's SYNNERGY showcase, with the winning composer invited down beforehand to coach the performers themselves. For this cycle, submissions open 1 October and close 31 December 2026, and composers must be at least 18 by 1 June 2027. There are two categories: a faculty-instrumentation track, open to anything written for three or more of that year's festival faculty instruments — flute, oboe or English horn, saxophone, French horn, voice, violin or viola, cello, piano, percussion, with smaller groupings preferred over large ones — and a graphic-score track for works using graphic or non-Western notation with three or more performers, which also go on public display at a Knoxville arts centre the following June. Pieces must have been written in the last twelve years, premieres aren't required, electronics and amplification are fine, and a composer can send up to five works on separate entries. Entry is pay-what-you-can, with a $5 minimum and a $15 suggested fee. You submit a score PDF, a programme note, the duration, and an optional recording through an online form. The selected composer in each category gets one of three things: a $1,000 tuition scholarship to the festival, a $750 travel stipend plus a seat at rehearsals and the showcase, or $500 if they can't attend in person. No scoring criteria are published, and reviewers do see composer names on the submitted scores.