Anyone can commission a new piece of music. People have been doing it for centuries. Music is a way to celebrate important milestones, commemorate accomplishments or simply support a composer who needs a chance. The American Composers Forum has a long history of helping individuals and groups commission new music. The celebrated Minnesota Commissioning Club has been working through the Forum since it was organized in 1990. Find out more about how we can help you!

ACF is partnering with GALA Choruses Inc. (an international organization serving the GLBT choral movement) to launch a pilot Community Partners program. This program will provide $5,000 for two GALA-member choruses to commission a composer to write a piece for each of them, plus additional funds to subsidize rehearsal and performance costs associated with the commission.

Please note: The application deadline for both of these commissions has passed.

ACF Philadelphia's Community Partners: Film Composers Edition provides direct support to composers for production of a film score for a new film that highlights Philadelphia communities, cultures, or history, such as: films highlighting, depicting or otherwise involving Philadelphia communities or individuals within those communities; films of specific interest to Philadelphia communities, but not necessarily directly about the community; films that highlight some aspect of Philadelphia's history or cultural heritage; films that highlight an influential or overlooked individual or community group whose work has impacted Philadelphia communities; films that are fictional, depicting an individual, community, or political or cultural issue, if it relates directly to Philadelphia and its communities.

Individual composers in the Philadelphia region are eligible to apply. Application deadline is May 31, 2010 (postmark)

A major initiative of the American Composers Forum and the National Endowment for the Arts, Continental Harmony links composers with communities across the country.

This nationally recognized composer-in-residence program is designed to enhance your musical worship. Your composer works with you and one or two other congregations, helping to bring personal meaning and an interfaith perspective to each community.

In partnership with MakeMusic, Inc. and the Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird, the American Composers Forum announces the Finale^® National Composition Contest.

The objective of this competition is to encourage creativity by composers throughout the United States and to recognize and reward their accomplishments.

We are pleased to announce a new commission and residency opportunity, made possible by a partnership between the American Composers Forum (ACF), Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota (Children's), and the Minnesota Boychoir.

Healing and Hope Through Song (HHTS) is designed to help patients and their families express their feelings and give voice to their stories through poetry and music. Through working in a residency setting at Children's (which has hospital campuses in both St. Paul and Minneapolis), the poet and composer will collaborate to create 4 new choral works, approximately 12 minutes in total duration, which will be premiered by the Minnesota Boychoir in Spring 2011. The poet and composer will work with appropriate staff at Children's to design residency activities and collaborate with participants to develop and create the new pieces.

The application deadline for this program has passed.

PLEASE NOTE: This program replaces and expands on the Jerome Composers Commissioning Program (JCCP)

This program, funded by the Jerome Foundation, supports the creation of new musical works by emerging composers, composer/performers, improvisers and sound artists from Minnesota and the five boroughs of New York.

JFund helps cover the cost of the creator's commissioning fee and also provides financial support - Enhancement Funds - to help the project reach its maximum potential.

A composer applies in conjunction with a performing organization (which may be any soloist or group, not necessarily a non-profit organization). Alternatively, a composer/performer/improviser who plays in her/his own work applies in conjunction with a venue or presenter (e.g., school, theater, gallery, festival, radio station, etc.).

JFund welcomes applications in all musical genres, including jazz, experimental, classical, improvised, electroacoustic, sound-art and international styles, and seeks to expand new-music culture beyond the usual settings.

Application Deadline: Friday, August 20, 2010 (postmark).

Look for us at the Minnesota State Fair 2008! Saturday, August 23, at 2:30 p.m.
State Fair Bandshell on Cosgrove Street

In commemoration of Minnesota's Sesquicentennial in 2008, the American Composers Forum has partnered with the Minnesota Chorale to produce Minnesota Voices, a state-wide commissioning opportunity for composers to create original music celebrating Minnesota?s history and rich choral heritage.

Music in Motion is a two-phase, pilot program in Minnesota, which first offers three open workshops on issues in music and dance as a collaborative partnership and, second, awards commissions for new work.

The American Composers Forum, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, offers a Northern California Composers Commissioning Program (NCCCP). Performers (individuals or ensembles) and presenters are invited to apply for grants from $5000 to $7500 on behalf of themselves and composers with whom they wish to collaborate. Awards will be shared, as described below, between applicants and composers. For informnation on the next application deadline, contact the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Director at tel 415.864.0400 or email.

The Forum offers a commission and residency opportunity for a composer to work with clients at crisis shelters.