THE JACK STONE AWARD FOR NEW MUSIC
In 2026, the 16th Jack Stone Award for New Music will be awarded to one student who is currently enrolled at least 3/4 time at a community college within the United States. Students must be enrolled in an associate's program, not a bachelor's program, but no age or citizenship restrictions apply. The recipient will receive $200, the first runner up will receive $100, and the second runner up will also receive $100. In addition, all three selected composers, if they are coming from within the contiguous United States, will be flown to San Antonio, TX to attend a master class and performance of their pieces on March 24th by Adelante Winds in the Palmetto Center for the Arts at Northwest Vista College and to receive their awards in person. This year's instrumentation will be woodwind quintet. Students may submit pieces for solos, duos, trios, or quartets from the following instrumentation, as well.
Full instrumentation:
Flute (doubling on piccolo)
Clarinet (doubling on bass clarinet)
Oboe (doubling on English Horn)
Bassoon
French Horn
Composers are advised to consider the feasibility of instrument changes, should they require doubling.
Pieces must be less than 10 minutes in duration.
Submissions must be received by February 8th, 2026 and must include a legible score and parts, program notes, a short bio, reliable contact information, and proof of enrollment that clearly shows the name of the college you attend. Judges will not be able to see your bio or proof of enrollment; judging will be anonymous. Recordings (including MIDI realizations) are strongly recommended.
Anonymous judging will be by a panel of unbiased (non-community college faculty) composers from the Composers Alliance of San Antonio.
To submit your piece, visit New Music Engine's submission portal.
Past winners and runners-up have included:
Mihye Kim * Edo Ryan * Corbin Hines * Kenji Oh * Connor Helms * Kenneth Subrin * Laura Day * Nathaniel Moore * Thomas Mullins * Sano Sanchez * Nicolas Vaquera * Clifford Allen * Jeremiah Sweeney * Noelle Pinsonnault * Chris Dahlman * Peter Fitzgerald * Eunho Kim * Chance Slater * Sam Rainey * John Carroll * Rebekah Novinger * Josef Daniel Kilhoffer * Melissa Wang * Connor Wier * Mikael Baisch * Samina Yaghouti * Tim Naples * Kurtis Roush * Kailey Martinelli * Tristan Scott * Zander Furrow * William Stephen Codd * Harley Leon Glenn * Michael Thomas Crumpton
Background and history of the Jack Stone Award:
Beth started the Jack Stone Award for New Music at Northwest Vista College in 2010 with funding from a Yale AlumniVentures grant and support from then-president Jacqueline Claunch. Each year, community college student composers from around the United States submit pieces for varied instrumentations, and these pieces are judged by members of the Composers Alliance of San Antonio. A winner and two runners-up are selected, and they are then flown to San Antonio, where they get to meet and form lifelong friendships in addition to hearing their works premiered by top-notch professional musicians. They receive a recording of their works, and the concert is preceded by a master class involving the musicians and at least one of the judges, allowing the students valuable opportunities to learn and grow as composers.
Past performers have included Bel Cuore Quartet, Tetractys, line upon line percussion, Molly Emerman, Steve Parker, Sarah Silver, Graeme Francis, Morgen Johnson, Caroline Shaw, Lorna Kreier, Eleonore Oppenheim, Neal Fitzpatrick, Carly Fleming, Danielle Solerno, and the Olmos Ensemble.
To listen to past years’ winning pieces, visit the Jack Stone Award’s soundcloud page.
The Jack Stone Award relies on donations to keep going, and your donations to the Alamo Colleges Foundation are tax deductible. Thank you for your generosity!
Visit to hear more from past winners:
Space Whales (feat. Chance Slater)
Melissa Wang - percussion recital