Commission for the MIFA Victory Players Contemporary Music Ensemble
“Golden Age”
Workshop Dates: June 7 - 10, 2027
During the workshop, composers work on pieces and ideas to be premiered in 2028
Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
The Victory Players are a Pierrot + Percussion ensemble (flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, percussion), led by Music Director Tianhui Ng. This year, the ensemble seeks to commission six new works.
The Golden Age Project
Golden Age is an initiative by the Victory Players that celebrates the variety, resilience, and brilliance of contemporary music in the United States. Building on the ensemble’s long-standing commitment to championing voices from across the Americas, the project commissions and presents new works by composers whose music reflects the complex, luminous soundscape of our time.
Through residencies, recordings, and performances in communities in and around Western Massachusetts, Golden Age fosters new relationships between artists and audiences, illuminating the many ways music can speak to shared histories, migration, identity, and renewal. The project expands on the Victory Players’ ongoing collaborations with renowned composers such as Carlos Carrillo, Jorge Sosa, Odaline de la Martinez, Johanny Navarro, and José Javier Peña Aguayo, while inviting a new generation of creators to imagine what a “golden age” of American new music might sound like today. Composers already in the Golden Age project include Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Emily Koh, Felipe Salles, David Ibbett, Charles Shadle, Kiegan Ryan, Ema Quiñones Nuñez, Kacper Madejek, Francis Rodriguez, and Katie Semro— reflecting a wide span of creative influences.
By centering stories of endurance, imagination, and cultural exchange, Golden Age continues to work towards redefining the canon of contemporary music as one that is as multifaceted and dynamic as the country itself.
Commission
Composers are invited to submit a proposal for an 8-12 minute work to be premiered by the ensemble. Selected composers will be invited for the four-day workshop in June 2027 with the Victory Players, in which they will have access to top-notch professional instrumentalists. In this workshop, composers will be given the opportunity to session ideas for their work in seminar settings. Portions of their work will be featured and performed in a concert at the end of the workshop. The final work should be completed by April 1st, 2028.
A commission fee of $1,000 is available for each successful proposal; $300 to be paid up front for the commission and the remainder to be paid upon completion in April 2028.
Application
The application to commission is open from September 10th, 2026 to December 1, 2026. The winners will be announced on February 1, 2027.
A three-person jury will select the winning composers: composers Armando Bayolo and Sonia Morales, alongside Music Director Tianhui Ng.
Applicants must submit an online application, which includes uploading a short biography and CV, a one-page description of the proposed composition, and PDFs of scores of 2-3 recent compositions. Submitting video and/or audio files with your application is encouraged, but not necessary.
The Victory Players is a program of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) Victory Theatre. All are encouraged to apply. MIFA Victory Theatre does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability.
MIFA Victory Theatre presents the finest examples of contemporary practice in the performing, visual, and literary arts for the purposes of educating, entertaining, and enriching lives. MIFA serves the economic revitalization of Holyoke through the preservation and reopening of the historic landmark Victory Theatre.
Please direct all questions to the Ensemble Manager, Robert Rocheteau, at victoryplayersusa@gmail.com.
