THE NEW VOICE
COMPOSERS STUDIO

Composing for voice

The New Voice Composers Studio, directed by Jake Landau, offers emerging composers the invaluable experience of working directly with singers on their own music. Guided by our composition and vocal faculty, each composer works with a small group of singers to workshop and premiere a two-person scene and a solo art song. Composers additionally attend lectures, and masterclasses; receive private lessons on their music; and attend the rehearsals, stagings, and performances of their two original works.

Composers in The New Voice program will premiere two works, to be prepared and submitted to the Festival no later than May 1:

• One scene for premiere in concert

  • For operatic or musical theater singers

  • Instrumentation: two singers (voice types assigned upon acceptance) with a pit consisting of viola, cello, and piano

  • The libretto must be in English and is entirely of your own choosing. Texts must be either written by you, in the public domain, or submitted with the express written consent of its owner.

  • The piece will be learned and practiced beforehand but assembled over the course of just one week. This is important to keep in mind as you are thinking about level of virtuosity and rehearsal time needed to perform your piece satisfactorily.

• One art song for premiere in concert

  • Instrumentation: one singer (voice type assigned upon acceptance) and one instrument: EITHER piano, viola, or cello

  • The violist and cellist are also comfortable singing while playing, if desired, but are not to be given as prominent a vocal role as the singer themself.

  • No more than three minutes in length

  • The text must be in English or Italian and is entirely of your own choosing. Texts must be either written by you, in the public domain, or submitted with the express written consent of its owner.

Please reach out to thenewvoicefestival@gmail.com with any questions.

2022 season spotlight

Larry Edoff’s scene “Come With Me,” was workshopped and premiered at the 2022 Festival, and later recorded by alums Claire Leyden and Jason Detwiler.

2024 Composers Studio

Pokee Chan

Laurence Freed

Gail Harris

Louis Horvath, IV

Gordon Rose