Notre Dame Liturgy Alive! 2027: $3,500 Choral Composition Prize for U.S. Residents

U.S.-RESIDENTS-ONLY JUDGED COMPOSITION PRIZE. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana has issued the 2027 Liturgy Alive! Notre Dame Magnificat Choir Composition Commission Competition. It seeks a new sacred choral setting for the Catholic Mass, with one winner eligible for a US$3,500 prize. The winning work is intended for performance by the Notre Dame Magnificat Choir at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. This is a paid PRIZE competition with professional adjudication, not volunteer choir recruitment or a job paying everyone who participates.

Eligibility: legal U.S. residents aged 18 or over

The legally binding official rules limit eligibility to legal U.S. residents who are currently living in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, aged at least 18. Being a U.S. citizen living outside the United States is not enough under this wording. Employees, collaborators, contractors and certain relatives of the sponsoring institution are excluded. This is not a worldwide open competition. One newly composed entry per person is permitted under the rules.

What music to compose: Spanish antiphon for women’s voices

Set the complete SPECIFIED SPANISH communion antiphon for the Solemnity of Christ the King, based on the phrase 'Siéntase el Señor como Rey eterno'. The full official Spanish text must appear in the composition at least once; optional English Psalm 29 verses may be added if the precise permitted translation and its source are correctly credited. These are prescribed liturgical texts, not a choice of poems or a purely instrumental-score competition.

The choral writing must be in two parts, soprano and alto (SA), or three parts, soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto (SMA). Either a cappella or organ accompaniment is permitted. A piece around three to four minutes is desired; a repeatable antiphon-and-psalm-verse structure allowing flexibility is also described. The choir is largely composed of non-music-major undergraduates, so the work must be practical to rehearse. The official PDF expressly disqualifies atonal writing or overly complicated music. These rules describe the music, not an unpaid hiring opportunity.

Prize money, judging and organizer history

The stated first prize is US$3,500. The judges may decide that no composition merits a prize, so the award is not guaranteed. A panel of church musicians, choir directors and composers evaluates artistic quality, singability, liturgical suitability and creativity. The Magnificat Choir's organizer page links previous prize winners and notes that its 2025 album includes earlier winning compositions, giving a traceable competition history. The winning composition is expected to serve a November 2027 Mass and may enter the choir's concert or recording repertoire.

Deadline: January 3, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. EST; entry is free

The entry window runs from July 1, 2026 through January 3, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The organizer confirms that no purchase or entry fee is required. The winning composer is expected to be contacted by January 29, with public results by February 3, 2027. Do not confuse the 2027 church performance date with the earlier submission deadline.

Email submission: anonymized score and MP3

The detailed competition instructions ask entrants to email a typeset musical score as PDF plus an MP3 recording to basilica@nd.edu with subject 'Magnificat Choir Composition Commission Competition 2027'. Remove your name from the score so that the competition can be judged blind, while supplying your contact information in the email. The MP3 may be a piano or organ play-through or a software realization rather than a live choir recording. An official legal-rules PDF also describes PDF or high-resolution JPG formats: follow the more specific instructions in the competition-detail document and ask the contact staff to clarify if unsure.

Copyright risk: very broad perpetual rights in the legal rules

IMPORTANT FOR PROFESSIONAL COMPOSERS: The legal participation terms contain a broad, unconditional and perpetual worldwide license allowing Notre Dame and associated parties to reproduce, distribute, adapt, publicly perform and otherwise use the submitted music in multiple media without additional approval or payment. The exact enforceability and scope should be reviewed in the original rules before agreeing; it is not safe to assume an unsuccessful entrant retains unrestricted exclusive control of all subsequent uses. Entrants with publishers or existing exclusive contracts should seek their own legal advice before submission.

Official announcement and full application documents

Organizer's primary official page: https://basilica.nd.edu/music/liturgy-alive/

2027 composition details and precise Spanish text: https://basilica.nd.edu/assets/664914/composition_details_liturgy_alive_composition_contest_2027_3_.pdf

Official legally binding contest rules and licensing terms: https://basilica.nd.edu/assets/664913/_2027_liturgy_alive_competition_rules_1_.pdf

Information checked October 30, 2026. This article independently summarizes an external competition; the complete organizer documentation governs eligibility, rights, submission, judging and payment.