Institute for Choral Creativity

2026 winners

After careful review of 204 entries (from 38 different countries, in 18 different languages!), we are thrilled to announce the winners of the ICC's sixth annual composition competition.

• First Prize: “Seeing Off Monk Xu to Visit Tiantai” by Xingzimin Pan
• Second Prize: “Oaks and Roses” by Anuj Bhutani
• Honorable Mention: John Rotar, for “Bridge of Dreams”

Mission

The ICC seeks to further and empower the art of contemporary choral music by (1) identifying talented emerging and underrepresented choral composers and connecting them with ensembles committed to performing and/or recording their music; (2) curating an annual composition competition with a cash prize and multiple performances of the winning work(s); and (3) offering private and group instruction in writing for choirs, contemporary choral music appreciation, and other topics for anyone from compositional newcomers to experienced composers looking to diversify their output.

The Institute for Choral Creativity was founded by composer Ed Frazier Davis in the summer of 2020 as an outreach institute of the William Baker Choral Foundation. It is based in Chicago. Winning works are premiered in Chicago.

Faculty and Staff

Ed Frazier Davis, Director, Institute for Choral Creativity

Composition competition

Rules below are for the 2026 cycle, which has concluded. Results were announced on February 2, 2026.

The ICC invited submissions from composers of any age, race, gender, or nationality. Applicants could not be current members of any William Baker Choral Foundation ensemble, and could not have previously won first or second prize. Composers could submit up to two works.

Each work was to be written either for SATB choir a cappella, or for SATB choir with any combination of two violins, viola, cello, and double bass. The theme note for the cycle was “Quintessence.” Texts could be original, in the public domain, or copyrighted if a letter of permission was included. Texts not in English, French, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish required a pronunciation guide. Works were to last 3 to 6 minutes. Divisi up to SSAATTBB was allowed sparingly. A cappella scores needed a piano reduction. Scores were submitted anonymously. Works were to have been composed between 2015 and 2025, not published by a major publisher, and not previously performed in Illinois, Kansas, or Missouri.

Entries — a PDF score, an MP3 rendering or performance recording, and a biography of 250 words or fewer — were sent to choralcreativity@gmail.com by December 31, 2025, end of day, Anywhere on Earth.

First prize was $1,000. Second prize, if named, was $750. Both prizes included performance by Vox Venti in Chicago on May 9, 2026, and inclusion in the Jane Sullivan Choral Library. If that performance date had to be postponed, the cash prize was still paid.

We expect to announce our next competition in early autumn.

Previous winners