2026 Central Chapter Conference

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Submission Deadline: 11:59pm Mountain Time on Friday, November 14, 2025 

The Central chapter of The College Music Society will hold its 45th Conference March 13-14, 2026, at the Metropolitan State University in Denver, CO.

The Program Committee welcomes proposals for demonstrations, discussion forums, panels, scholarly research papers, posters, and workshops relating to all aspects of music creation, performance, scholarship, teaching, learning, career considerations, and other areas of interest to the music professional. The Committee invites the broadest representation from the music profession and its interests, and welcomes proposals from students, faculty, retirees, and independent musicians from all educational and professional settings. 

CONSIDERATIONS 

• Demonstrations enable conference attendees to learn about methods, resources, or tools, and differ from workshops in that they are not interactive. Demonstrations are limited to 25 minutes. 
• Discussion Forums create a venue for attendees to interact and discuss specific topics related to the profession. While moderated, most of the information and knowledge sharing is generated by the audience rather than the presenter. Forums are less formal than speaker-led presentations. Forums are typically 55 minutes.  
• Panels provide an opportunity to examine a topic in depth. A panel comprises at least two panelists and is facilitated by a moderator. The moderator may either engage panelists with curated questions or may provide initial remarks before inviting each panelist to share their perspective within a pre-established time frame. Panels might conclude with an audience Q&A session, a summation of key points, and acknowledgements. Panels are typically 55 minutes.  
• Papers are 25-minute presentations of research or a significant discovery. These are spoken presentations but may include audiovisual elements and/or time for Q&A. 
• Posters present an idea or project via a compelling visual display. Time will be scheduled during the conference for poster presenters to interact with attendees regarding their research.  
• Workshops enable conference attendees to learn about specific methods, tools, resources, or projects through hands-on interaction, and are generally designed to teach something or develop a specific skill, or set of skills, rather than present original research. 
• Prior to submission, proposers must communicate with all co-presenters regarding their interest and availability. Proposals not listing all participants will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered. 
• All persons whose work is selected for inclusion on the program are expected to register for and attend the full conference. If the proposal is accepted, proposers will be asked to communicate with all participants in the presentation to ensure their registration by the end of the calendar year. At its discretion, the Program Committee may exempt from the membership and registration fee requirements specific individuals, such as invited speakers or guest panelists who are non-music professionals. It is the responsibility of the individual who submits the proposal to, upon acceptance, make conference planners aware of all non-music professionals involved in their presentation and to request such an exemption. 
• Proposers agree to present on any day of the conference should their proposal be accepted. 
• The College Music Society does not fund travel expenses of accepted presenters. 
• Proposers must submit their own work and may not submit proposals on behalf of their students or others. 
• Proposals of a commercial nature that promote products or services will not be considered. 

ELIGIBILITY 

• The Primary proposer does not have to be a current member of The College Music Society but is required to register in order to present at the conference. Please note the processing time for membership applications and/or renewals is 1–2 business days. 
• It is not necessary for co-presenters to be current members at the time of submission; however, if invited to the program, every person involved in the presentation must join CMS. 

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION & PARTICIPATION POLICY 

• Each applicant may submit a maximum of 1 proposal(s) in response to this Call.  
• Each applicant may submit a maximum of 2 proposal(s) to all calls for this conference. 
• Each applicant may be added by others as a co-presenter (e.g., panelist or accompanist) to a maximum of 2 proposals.  
• The maximum number of presentations in which a member may be involved on the conference program is 2. If more than two proposals involving the same member are accepted – regardless of whether the member submitted the proposal or was added another member’s proposal – the individual in question must choose in which two presentations s/he will participate.  

PREPARATION OF MATERIALS 

• Electronic submissions are required. Proposals sent by mail will not be considered.  
• 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. (Visit this page for help using Submittable and to view a list of Frequently Asked Questions.) 
• A complete proposal includes:
  1. The proposal’s title & format.
  2. An abstract of 250 words or less.
  3. Optional: You may add up to 3 supporting materials to your proposal. These might include printed music examples, photos, statistics, or relevant data. Do not include lengthy documents, dissertations, CVs, resumes, or PowerPoint presentations.
  4. A list of required equipment and Internet needs (Internet connections may include a fee).
  5. A biography of the proposer (250-word maximum). 

Please Note: To support the blind review process, the name(s) or affiliation(s) of anyone involved in the presentation should not appear in the title or abstract, nor in the file names or body of submitted supplementary materials, as submissions are evaluated anonymously. Proposals identifying the proposer or co-presenters will be disqualified. Names and affiliations may appear in the “Co-Presenter” section of the proposal and in submitted biographies, however, as the review committee will not have access to this information. 

• Submissions that do not conform to the above guidelines will not be considered. 

TIMELINE 

• Proposals must be submitted by 11:59pm Mountain Time on Friday, November 14, 2025. 
• Proposers will be notified by Monday, December 15, 2025.

QUESTIONS? 

Questions regarding this call should be directed to: 

Kyu Butler, [email protected] 
CMS Central Conference Program Chair 

Submission Deadline: 11:59pm Mountain Time on Friday, November 14, 2025

The Central chapter of The College Music Society will hold its 45th Conference March 13-14, 2026, at the Metropolitan State University in Denver, CO.

The Program Committee welcomes submissions of original works to be performed during one or more special concerts during the conference. Composers must either perform their own works or provide their own performer(s).  The Committee solicits the broadest representation of our profession and its interests and welcomes submissions from students, faculty, retirees, and independent musicians from all educational and professional settings. 

CONSIDERATIONS 

• Proposed works must be 10 minutes or less in duration. 
• Composers who will provide their own performers must communicate with their performers prior to submission, regarding their interest and availability. Proposals which do not list all performers will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered.  
• Composers may wish to refer to the online CMS Player’s Roster to locate performers who have volunteered their services for this conference.  
• All composers whose work is selected for inclusion on the program are expected to register for, and attend, the entire conference. Performers on this concert, who may or may not be members of CMS, are not expected to register and attend the conference unless they wish to, but their attendance will be limited to the concert and any rehearsals if they do not register. 
• Composers must be willing to have their works performed on any day of the conference should their proposal be accepted. 
• The College Music Society does not fund travel expenses of accepted presenters or performers. 
• Proposers must submit their own work and may not submit proposals on behalf of their students or others. 

ELIGIBILITY 

• Composers do not need to be current members of The College Music Society at the time of submission, but will need to register prior to presenting at the conference. Please note the processing time for membership applications and/or renewals is 1–2 business days. 

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION & PARTICIPATION POLICY 

• Each applicant may submit a maximum of 1 score to this conference.  
• Each applicant may submit a maximum of 2 proposal(s) to all calls for this conference. 
• Each applicant may be added by others as a co-presenter (e.g., panelist or accompanist) to a maximum of 2 proposals.  
• The maximum number of presentations in which an applicant may be involved on the conference program is 2. If more than two proposals involving the same applicant are accepted – regardless of whether the applicant submitted the proposal or was added another applicant’s proposal – the individual in question must choose in which two presentations they will participate.  

PREPARATION OF MATERIALS 

• Electronic submissions are required. Proposals sent by mail will not be considered.  
• 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. (Visit this page for help using Submittable and to view a list of Frequently Asked Questions.) 
• A complete proposal includes:
  1. The score’s title, instrumentation, and duration, rounding up to the nearest half minute. 
  2. A PDF copy of the full score and individual parts (anonymous). The score may be notated at concert pitch or transposed but the composer is asked to make this clear in the score. Multi-movement scores should be merged into a single PDF file, as should all parts. 
  3. A digital recording of the work. MIDI file/software-synthesis realizations are acceptable. Most audio file formats are supported within Submittable.
  4. Program notes (not to exceed 250 words). 
  5. A list of required equipment (Internet connections are not guaranteed). 
  6. A brief biography of the composer (not to exceed 250 words).
  7. Name of performing ensemble, if applicable. 
  8. Biography of ensemble or performer(s) (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.  

Please note:  

• The name(s) or affiliation(s) of anyone involved in the presentation should not appear on the score or parts, in program notes, or in the file names of submitted audio samples, as submissions are evaluated anonymously. Proposals identifying the composer or collaborators will be disqualified. Names and affiliations may appear in submitted biographies and in the “Performers” section of the proposal, however, as the review committee will not have access to this part of the application. 
• Submissions that do not conform to the above guidelines will not be considered. 

TIMELINE 

• Proposals must be submitted by 11:59pm Mountain Time on Friday, November 14, 2025.
• Proposers will be notified by Monday, December 15, 2025.

QUESTIONS? 

Questions regarding this call should be directed to: 

Kyle Vanderburg, [email protected] 
CMS Central Conference Composition Chair