Pasadena Chorale Seeks Local High School Composers For 10th Annual Listening to the Future Program

The Pasadena Chorale has announced the 10th year of its acclaimed student-mentor composition program, Listening to the Future. Open to Pasadena-area high school students in grades 9–12, the free program pairs young composers with a professional mentor, guides them through the process of writing for choir, and culminates in a live performance and recording of their original works by the award-winning Pasadena Chorale.

Aspiring young composers can sign up to participate in this year’s Listening to the Future program here: pasadenachorale.org/listening-to-the-future. Experience performing and creating music is helpful, as is familiarity with music notation. The program runs Nov. 2025 through May 2026, and the deadline to sign up is Tuesday, Oct. 28.

This year, the Chorale welcomes David García Saldaña as the program’s composer mentor. García Saldaña teaches composition and theory at Pasadena City College, as well as at Blair High School and Pasadena High School. His strong ties to the Pasadena community make him an ideal mentor for this milestone year of Listening to the Future.

“David is a passionate and enthusiastic composer and educator, and I know he’ll bring a tremendous amount to our program this year,” said Jeffrey Bernstein, Founding Artistic & Executive Director of the Pasadena Chorale. “Because he teaches at two local high schools and at Pasadena City College, David is deeply connected to the community. That will not only enrich the students’ experience, but also help us engage more young composers right here in Pasadena.”

Students selected for the program will meet with García Saldaña twice a month from November through May to learn the craft of writing for choir, receive feedback on their works-in-progress, and prepare their pieces for performance. Each student will compose two works for the Chorale: an arrangement of an existing melody and an original composition.

In the spring, the young composers will attend a Pasadena Chorale rehearsal to hear their works sung for the first time. Their completed pieces will be premiered at the Chorale’s 10th annual Listening to the Future concert on Saturday, June 20, 2026, and each student will receive a professional video and audio recording of their work to include in portfolios and college applications.

Since its launch in 2016, Listening to the Future has premiered more than 70 original choral works by 29 student composers, many of whom have gone on to study music composition at leading institutions including USC, UCLA, CalArts, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, and Yale. Each year, the program is offered free to the public, continuing Pasadena Chorale’s commitment to access and community engagement.

This season also marks the beginning of a new partnership with The Collegiate Choral Composition Community (The CCCC), which will expand the scope of Listening to the Future to feature works by college composers from across the United States alongside Pasadena’s high school participants.

For information on Pasadena Chorale’s Listening to the Future program and to sign up, please visit: pasadenachorale.org/listening-to-the-future.

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