GroundSwell Emerging Composers Competition
2025-26
GroundSwell is pleased to announce its biennial Emerging Composers Competition. The 2025-26 competition features Montreal’s Quasar Saxophone Quartet, an ensemble of the highest calibre that has been committed to championing new Canadian music for the past 3 decades.
Three winners will be selected by a jury consisting of members of the quartet and established composers chosen by GroundSwell. The 1st place winner will be commissioned to compose a new work for saxophone quartet, approximately 5 minutes in duration. This piece will be performed by the Quasar Quartet in Winnipeg at a GroundSwell concert in March 2026 (exact date TBD), and the 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive cash prizes. The 1st place winner’s commissioning fee, travel, and accommodation costs will be provided by GroundSwell. All decisions of the jury will be final.
Eligibility
This competition is open to composers in the early stages of their careers. Applicants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, or foreign citizens studying at a Canadian institution. Applicants may not be currently affiliated with GroundSwell.
Submissions
- Applicants are asked to submit a score and recording of one work for chamber ensemble (at least 2 players). High quality digital renderings are acceptable. Only one application per composer will be accepted.
- Applications will only be accepted digitally: email artistic@gswell.ca with “GroundSwell Composers Competition” as the subject. Include links for your score (.pdf only) and recording (.wav, .aif, or .mp3) via file sharing service such as Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc.
- Include a brief biography.
- There is no application fee.
Prizes
1st place: $3000 commission and performance by Quasar
2nd place: $750
3rd place: $500
Timeline
April 15th, 2025 Deadline for submissions (11:59PM, CDT)
June 15th, 2025 Winner announced
December 15th, 2025 Receipt of new work (completed score and parts)
March, 2026 Performance at GroundSwell Concert
Carly Splett
Carly Toperosky Splett is a young Canadian composer. They obtained their Masters of Music Composition at McGill University in 2022, and Bachelor of Music at University of Calgary in 2019. Carly’s role as a composer is to create spaces with a set time duration. These spaces function in the role of storytelling, and are used to challenge perception and preconceived notions in public audiences, musicians and academics. Their works focus heavily on texture and structures, with these and other music materials creating a cohesive whole through tenuous and sometimes intangible connections.
Scott Jodoin is an eclectic composer and performer from Steinbach, MB, known for his imaginative works. He studied composition at the University of Manitoba under the tutelage of Örjan Sandred and Gordon Fitzell. He has achieved successes in composition competitions, winning the Frances Seaton Choral Composition Competition in 2018 with his piece “Springtime Melting” and earning third place in GroundSwell’s 2015 Emerging Composers Composition Competition with “rem•i•ni•scence” (with Freya Olafson)..Among his larger-scale works are the two-act opera “Mai ’68” (2015), jazz orchestra piece “Two Left Feet” (2016), and “Three Vignettes of Northwestern Ontario” for flute, cello, and live electronics (c. GroundSwell, 2019). He has enjoyed working with esteemed ensembles and musicians such as the Pearls Before Swine Quartet, Ensemble Paramibo, Allen Harrington, Sean Taubner, Martha Durkin, Victoria Sparks, and Sarah Jo Kirsch. In addition to his composition activities, Scott is also a pianist-singer-songwriter in the jazz-pop genre. With a background in software development, Scott explores the intersections between algorithmic and musical construction, while also finding inspiration in the mysteries of the everyday.
Winners Announced June 15th, 2023!
Winner will compose a new work for Vancouver-based pianist Corey Hamm. The commissioned work will be for solo piano (5 minutes duration) and be premiered in the spring of 2024 in Winnipeg. Winner’s travel and accommodation, as well as the commissioning fee, will be covered by GroundSwell.