Call for Ensemble-in-Residence

Submission Deadline: 11:59pm Mountain Time on Wednesday, May 13, 2026

The College Music Society (CMS) is pleased to announce its 2027 International Conference in Iceland. The conference will take place from June 6–12, 2027 in Reykjavík, Iceland. The program will include scholarly discourse and the presentation of new music by CMS members, interaction with Icelandic scholars and performers, and guided sightseeing and cultural opportunities. 

CMS Program Committee invites proposals from pre-formed ensembles to serve as the CMS Iceland Ensemble-in-Residence. The selected ensemble will present a featured, standalone concert during the conference that includes a combination of the ensemble’s existing repertoire and newly submitted works by composers affiliated with CMS and Listaháskóli Íslands (LHÍ).

This residency is intended to foster meaningful artistic collaboration between performers and composers, highlight contemporary compositional voices from both CMS and LHÍ, and create a high-profile performance event within the 2027 International Conference.

CONSIDERATIONS

• CMS International Conferences include cultural experiences and sightseeing opportunities which are meant to deepen participants’ understanding of the conference locale. These activities are included in the registration fee. With this in mind, attendees are asked to give careful consideration to the financial commitment associated with participation prior to proposal submission. Registration fees for recent international conferences have been between $1,000 and $1,400. Registration fees for the 2027 program have not yet been finalized, but they should be comparable. This fee will not include airfare or lodging.
• The College Music Society does not fund travel expenses of accepted presenters. Performers must provide their own instruments (except for a single grand piano, which will be provided).
• Prior to submission, proposers must communicate with all ensemble members regarding their interest and availability. Proposals that do not list all participants will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered. 
• Proposers agree to perform on any day of the conference should their proposal be accepted.

ELIGIBILITY

• The Primary proposer must be a current member of The College Music Society. First-time CMS members can sign up for a six-month trial membership at a discounted rate of $20. Persons interested in submitting a proposal should check their membership status well in advance of the submission deadline. Please note the processing time for membership applications and renewals is 1–2 business days.
• The conference location is unable to support any amplification of instruments, so this call is geared toward acoustic instruments only.
• The person completing the application must be a current member of The College Music Society.
• All performers are expected to register for and attend the full conference. If a proposal is accepted, the proposer must ensure that all participants are registered by fall 2026.
• A submission in response to this Call will not be counted towards the total allowable number of submissions by a member in response to future Calls for the conference. 

PREPARATION OF MATERIALS

• The College Music Society's conference submission process is powered by Submittable. To submit a proposal, please (1) log in to the CMS members-only website using your user name and password and then (2) click the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of this call. You will be directed to Submittable to complete your proposal. If you don't already have a Submittable account, you will be prompted to establish one. (Click here for help using Submittable and to view a list of Frequently Asked Questions.)
• A complete proposal includes:
  1. The name(s) and instrumentation of the ensemble.
  2. Two audio or video samples of contrasting works by the proposed ensemble, one of which must be a work composed by a living composer. Each file must be accompanied by a PDF score for reference by the Program Committee. The duration of each recording should be a minimum of 3 minutes and no longer than 8 minutes.
  3. PDF reference scores to accompany the audio samples submitted under item #3.
  4. A list of the repertoire the ensemble intends to perform on the non-CMS composer portion of the concert concert. List title, composer, date of composition, and duration for each work. Maximum programming for the preselected portion should be 25 minutes of music.
  5. PDF of a past concert program which includes the public performance of work by a living composer.
  6. A brief biography of the proposer (not to exceed 250 words).
  7. Biographies of the performer(s) or ensemble (maximum total text of 250 words). Ensemble biographies may briefly address the achievements of each ensemble member; however, separate biographies of each individual performer are not requested in this case.
  8. Contact details for all collaborators, including an email address, mailing address, and phone number for each person. Pianists must be named in this section. 

Please Note: Performers will be identifiable to the review committee in their application. Please do not anonymize your submission materials.

TIMELINE

• Proposals must be submitted by 11:59 PM Mountain Time on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
• Performers will be notified by Friday, June 19, 2026.
• Ensembles confirm their participation by July 19, 2026
• Calls for scores according to accepted performer instrumentations will be circulated in July 2026. 
• By September 15, 2026, featured performers will be contacted with possible repertoire to review and make a programming decision.
• Performers will confirm their concert program with the CMS Conference Committee by October 1, 2026.

QUESTIONS?

Questions regarding this call should be directed to:
[email protected], 2027 CMS International Conference Program Chair

Questions concerning conference operations should be directed to:
[email protected], CMS Director of Professional Activities