Morton Gould Young Composer Awards Grant

Morton Gould Young Composer Awards Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Ascap Foundation
Last Updated: December 26, 2025

Summary

The Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, presented by The ASCAP Foundation, support emerging composers under 30 by recognizing their original concert music. This prestigious award honors Morton Gould's legacy and offers monetary prizes to recipients. Eligible entrants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, aged at least 13, and can submit one original work. Previous winners of three or more awards are ineligible, ensuring a fair opportunity for new talents.

Overview

The ASCAP Foundation We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, supported by contributions from ASCAP members and music fans throughout the United States. We operate and support vital programs that impact millions of music creators and music lovers of all ages every year. Morton Gould Young Composer Awards About The Awards honor the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and The ASCAP Foundation’s former president Morton Gould’s lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators. Open to composers of original, concert music (“classical”), the Awards encourage developing music creators during the earliest stages of their careers. Prize Eligible Entrants will be selected as the Award Recipients and will receive a monetary prize. The total value of the Prize(s) to be shared among the Award Recipients shall be determined in the Foundation’s sole discretion.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Awards are open to young composers who have not reached their 30th birthday by the deadline. Entrants must also be, at the time of entry, a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or enrolled student with a valid and current U.S. student visa and at least 13 years of age.For Entrants under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in the state or country of their residence), such Entrant’s parent or guardian must complete and submit the Online Application on behalf of such Entrant and sign and submit a copy of the Parental Consent form available in the Online Application.One (1) Submission per Entrant.Submission RequirementsEntrants (or, if applicable, their parent or guardian) must submit one published or unpublished original concert work (no arrangements) andan mp3 (if available) of an electronic realization or recording of the musical work The Submission must beentirely the Entrant’s original work (e.g. no sampling, etc.) and be written within three years prior to the date of submission.

Ineligibility

Previous recipients of three or more Morton Gould Young Composer Awards are not eligible for consideration for these Awards. Other previous recipients of any Foundation award are eligible for consideration for the Award, but may only include in their Submission a work that was written after the work that was the subject of all such previous awards.No co-written Submissions will be considered for this Award.Works that have previously earned awards or prizes in major national or international competitions are ineligible for consideration for the Awards.Void where prohibited by law and outside the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Judges of the Award or anyone involved in the Judging Procedure as set forth in the Award Requirements are not permitted to enter or win the Award. Employees, officers and directors of the Foundation, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and any affiliated company, organization or entity, and their immediate family members, are not eligible to participate in the Award. For purpose of the foregoing, “immediate family” means parents, spouses, children, siblings or any members of the same households of such employees, officers and directors.