Participants will need to arrive on the morning of Monday 6 July and will depart late on the evening of Friday 10 July. A public showcase of all the works created during Composer Academy will take place on Friday 10 July as part of Cheltenham Music Festival.

Key Dates for Your Calendar

• 19 March at 5pm - Application Deadline
• 30 March - Application Outcome
• 11 May - 50% submission date
• 18 June - 80% submission date
• 6 - 10 July - Composer Academy
• 10 July - Performance Showcase

Composer Academy is designed for early-career composers who are taking their initial steps into a professional career. Participants must be aged over 18 but there is no upper age limit. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of any background. 

Participants do not need to have had formal education in composition but must have some prior experience in creating music. We ask applicants to provide examples of their previous work. There is no requirement to have previously worked with classical music, but applicants will need to demonstrate an interest in and ability to work with ‘classical’ forces/ensembles.  

To fully benefit from the experience, we recommend that participants are able to read musical notation. However, applicants do not need to produce their own work in conventional notation and may submit other formats e.g. graphic scores.  

Heavily subsidised by generous funders, and due to the intensive nature of the experience, course fees are kept low. In 2026 the course will cost £150 per person. This includes coaching, talks, concert tickets, accommodation and lunch each day.

Single room bed and breakfast accommodation will be provided and paid for by the Music Festival.

Lunches and a welcome evening meal on Monday 6 July will be provided by the Music Festival. All other evening meals will need to be covered by participants. 

There may be opportunities for financial support available via the third party organisation Sound And Music: Essentials Fund. Details of funding application deadlines are due to be announced very soon on their website. 

Please contact us if you would like to participate but feel unable to financially.

We are delighted to announce that Laura Bowler will be joining as the Academy Director for 2026. Hailed as a "triple-threat composer-performer provocatrice," she is an internationally acclaimed composer, vocalist and artistic director whose work spans theatre, opera and bold multidisciplinary performance. Laura has received commissions from leading ensembles and orchestras worldwide, collaboration with distinguished organisations including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, ROH2, Opera Holland Park, Manchester Camerata and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. Her work is celebrated for its visceral theatricality and fearless exploration of contemporary themes. In March 2025 her new work The White Book will be receiving its London premiere, being performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. 

Participants will have the opportunity to write a short work for small ensemble. The ensemble at this year’s Composer Academy will be the Carice Singers - unaccompanied solo vocal quartet.

Composers will be asked to submit an initial draft score in early May for the musicians to prepare and to receive feedback. 

Applications are now open.

You will be asked to tell us a bit about yourself, why you’d like to take part, what you’d like to write and upload some examples of your recent work.  

Please note that you only have to submit your Academy composition if you are selected for the scheme.  

The closing date for applications is Thursday 19 March at 5pm. 

Participants will be chosen by a selection panel. When making the selection, the panel will be looking at: the quality of music submission and the strength of the overall application. The panel will also consider: access to previous development opportunities and the overall diversity and representation of the final selection.  

We aim to contact all applicants by the start of April. 

As well as intensive tuition and development of your composition in workshops culminating in a high-quality performance and recording of your new work, you will enjoy contact with specialists in the performance of new music, world-renowned composers, and those working in the industry. Above all, Composer Academy offers a chance to discuss ideas, issues and questions with like-minded peers.