Soundstreams to Open Applications for BRIDGES Emerging Composers Program

Soundstreams has opened applications for its Bridges: Emerging Composers Program, an annual week-long tuition-free program that brings together celebrated mentors, a professional resident ensemble, and six emerging composers from around the world to each develop and premiere a new work, presented as part of Soundstreams' main stage concert series in Toronto, ON.

The 2027 program will run February 21 - February 28, 2027 in Toronto, Canada, with an application deadline of Thursday, October 8, 2026.

Each participant will receive a $1,000 honorarium for composing their new work and free accommodation in Toronto for the duration of the workshop.

James MacMillan has been announced as the program's visiting mentor for this year.

Previous Bridges visiting mentor composers have included: Unsuk Chin, Paul Grabowsky, Chris Paul Harman, Tarik O'Regan, Steve Reich, André Ristic, Kaija Saariaho, and R. Murray Schafer. Resident ensembles have included the Vancouver Chamber Choir, The Gryphon Trio, the Ralston String Quartet and TORQ.

For the 2027 Bridges Program, participants will be asked to write a 5-minute work for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion and piano. The final works will be premiered in Soundstreams' mainstage concert Angels Unawares: Music of James MacMillan, presented on February 27, 2027.

For more details about the program, eligibility criteria, and how to apply, visit soundstreams.ca/education/bridges/.