Morton Gould Young Composer Awards

The ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (the Awards) honor the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and The ASCAP Foundation’s former president Morton Gould’s lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators. Open to composers of original, concert music, the Awards encourage developing music creators during the earliest stages of their careers.

The specific rules and requirements of the Awards, including but not limited to, eligibility, winner selection process, and award criteria, are summarized below. All Entrants should read the Official Rules before applying for consideration for an Award. By participating in the Award process, all Entrants agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of The ASCAP Foundation (the Foundation) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), which are final and binding in all respects. To the extent not specifically defined below, all capitalized terms have the meaning set forth in the Official Rules.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for participation in the Award, an entrant (each an Entrant) must be, at the time of entry, (a) at least 13 years of age; (b) a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or enrolled student with a valid and current U.S. student visa; (c) under the age of 30 as of February 6, 2025; and, (d) as of the expiration of the Application and through the Notification Period, either (i) an ASCAP writer member in good standing or (ii) unaffiliated with a PRO; or (iii) a member of an International Performing Rights Organization (PRO) whose works are licensed through ASCAP.

Minor Applicants: If an Entrant is under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in their state, district, or territory of residence at the time of entry), such Entrant’s parent or guardian will be required to complete and submit the Online Application on the Entrant’s behalf and sign and submit a copy of the Parental Consent Form.

Do not include the email/phone contact of a minor child on the application or on the Parental Consent Form.

Co-Writers: No co-written Submissions will be considered for the Awards.

Previous Recipients of Foundation Awards: Previous recipients of three or more Morton Gould Young Composer Awards are not eligible for consideration for these Awards. Other previous recipients of any Foundation award are eligible for consideration for the Award but may only include in their Submission a work that was written after the work that was the subject of all such previous awards.

One (1) Submission per Entrant. If multiple Submissions are received from the same Entrant, only the first Submission from that Entrant will qualify for entry into the Award; subsequent Submissions from that Entrant will be disqualified.

Award Period

The Application Period begins on January 6, 2025, and ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 6, 2025. Completed hard copy Parental Consent forms must be received by February 6, 2025, as applicable.

Submission Requirements

To be considered for the Award, Entrants must submit:

• A completed Online Application,
• A score of one published or unpublished original concert work (no arrangements), and
• An mp3 of an electronic realization or recording of the musical work.

If an Entrant is under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in their state, district, or territory of residence) at the time of entry, the Entrant’s parent or legal guardian must complete and submit the Online Application on the Entrant’s behalf and download, complete, and upload a copy of the signed Parental Consent Form with the Online Application.

The submitted musical work must be entirely the Entrant’s original work (e.g. no sampling, etc.) written within three years before the date of submission.

All uploaded Submission materials must separately bear the Entrant’s name.

Clearance of Rights: For vocal compositions setting text or a translation of text, Entrants must provide evidence that the text or translation is either in the public domain or, if still protected, used with written permission from the author or translator or the relevant representative (i.e., publisher or estate).

Judging Procedure & Criteria

Each eligible Submission will be judged by a panel of ASCAP composer members based on the significance and overall artistry and compositional elements of the musical work or composition. The judges are selected by the Foundation in its sole discretion. Decisions of the Foundation and/or judges (including the selection of Award Recipient(s)) will be final and binding in all respects.