Phoenix Consort Emerging Composers 2026/27: UK Residents, £1,000 in Choral Prizes
UK-RESIDENT COMPOSITION COMPETITION: Phoenix Consort, a choral ensemble led by Adam Whitmore, is inviting emerging composers living in the United Kingdom to enter its inaugural 2026/27 Emerging Composers Competition. This is a judged, prize-bearing choral composition contest, not an unpaid vacancy for choristers. There is £1,000 in total cash prizes, a London concert final, one-to-one professional feedback and recordings for finalists.
Who may enter? UK residence and emerging-composer status
The official application PDF explicitly states that entrants must be UK residents. It is not an unrestricted international contest. The organizers invite composers who are developing their artistic profile and beginning or establishing a professional career; full-time music students and more experienced artists who still consider themselves emerging may also apply. There is a limit of one work per applicant. Eligibility should be checked directly with the organizer if an applicant's residential situation is unclear.
Required new choral score: Emily Dickinson and unaccompanied SATB
Write a work lasting 2.5–4 minutes, setting text by Emily Dickinson. It should be for an unaccompanied SATB choir; divisi up to SSAATTBB is permitted but not compulsory. The work must be practicable for up to 20 Phoenix Consort singers, and solos or semi-chorus passages are welcome. Entrants may select a Dickinson poem or an excerpt, rather than necessarily setting an entire poem. The score should be accessible for performance by a confident amateur choir despite creative modern harmonic or compositional techniques.
Cash prizes: £500, £300 and £200
The contest offers a £500 first prize, a £300 second prize and a £200 choir prize: £1,000 altogether, paid only to winners of the relevant awards. The benefits for finalists additionally include expert coaching and a professionally made recording, useful for a developing composition portfolio. These prizes are competition awards, not employment salaries. The organizers have not clearly published a participation fee on the accessible competition summary and PDF; applicants should ask the organizers to confirm whether any fee applies before entering.
IMPORTANT: Official deadline conflict — use 29 November as the safe cutoff
There is a material discrepancy in the organizer's own documents. The official website and PAGE ONE of its PDF give 11:59 p.m. on Sunday 29 November 2026 as the application deadline. However, PAGE TWO of the SAME PDF says entries may be emailed until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday 1 December 2026. Neither date should be presented as definitively reconciled. For safety, aim to submit before 11:59 p.m. UK time on 29 November 2026 and email Adam Whitmore to seek written confirmation of the valid deadline, particularly if submitting after that date.
How to submit an entry
Send the application to adam@phoenixconsort.com. The official PDF asks for your name, email, telephone, birth date and city of residence; a music CV or brief musical biography; your score as a PDF; an MP3 or MIDI demonstration where possible; a roughly 250-word description of your composition and performance intentions; and one or two sentences on how you would use any prize money. The final is scheduled for 13 February 2027 at St Gabriel's, Pimlico, London, and finalists are scheduled for announcement on 5 January 2027.
Publishing condition for winning compositions
The organizer has partnered with the independent publisher Coleman Page. Its stated condition of entry is that Coleman Page will be the publisher of winning compositions. Separate music-publishing and licensing contracts will be prepared in consultation with winners after the live final. Composers with existing agreements should review these conditions especially carefully and request the precise contractual terms before entering.
Original organizer documents
Official Phoenix Consort competition announcement: https://phoenixconsort.com/emerging-composers-2026-2027/
Official two-page entry-information PDF, including the conflicting deadlines: https://phoenixconsort.com/emerging-composers-entry-info-5/
Information checked 30 October 2026. This is an independent edited summary, not an organizer-issued notice. The organizer's current requirements and direct written clarification take precedence over this article.