The New Music Reading Workshop & Performance
A 3-day, new music
reading laboratory and concert seminar
hosting daily reading sessions, masterclasses and Q&A’s with industry leading musicians.
ABOUT
Composers of any age and nationality are invited to submit a new or previously composed work up to 10 minutes in length. The work may be a movement or excerpt of a larger work and may have previously been performed. EMERGE will accept up to 9 composers and will provide detailed insight by exploring and performing the work of each participant.
At the conclusion of the workshop, the featured artists will host a concert of all selected works. The concert and workshops will be professionally recorded. Each reading session and performance will be separated by composer and sent to each participant for their own personal use (i.e. website exposure, applications, festivals, SoundCloud or similar-free platforms). Finals recordings of the workshop readings and culminating performance by our featured artists are not allowed for commercial use/sale.
A THREE DAY NEW MUSIC READING WORKSHOP + CONCERT
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The following submissions are required to be considered for the New Music Workshop & Performance.
One score and parts composed for one of the following (submitted digitally in PDF format)
solo piano
solo toy piano
duo for violin & piano
duo for violin & toy piano
Work must not exceed 10 minutes in length
Recording of the work is preferred, but not required (MIDI is acceptable)
A CV or resume (PDF format only)
Short Biography not to exceed 250 words (PDF Format only)
Works that have been previously published, performed or commercially recorded are welcome
At this time, we are not able to support works with electronics for the upcoming season
WORKSHOP DETAILS
During the 3-day workshop composers will receive:
Group workshops, incorporating 20-minute reading session and critique for each composer per day for three days
Seminars/masterclasses from participating artists & composer/EMERGE Executive Director - Jesus J. Martinez
Access to EMERGE’s digital chamber concert archive
Recordings of all three workshop days and the EMERGE New Music Concert. The workshop and concert will be professionally recorded and sent to each participant
Possible future performances of the composer’s work on a future season of EMERGE’s OFF the Beaten Path Performance Series
IF SELECTED, PARTICIPANTS:
Are required to attend all three workshop days and the culminating concert
Participants will be asked to prepare a short introduction prior to the first reading and at the culminating concert
A $250 honorarium
DATES AND FEES
Application Open
NOW!
Submission
Deadline
December 31
11:59pm CTZ
Selected composers will be notified by January 21, 2026
The 3-day workshop will take place February 28-March 1, 2026 with the culminating performance hosted at a City of Dallas venue on the evening of Sunday, March 1, 2026.
YOUR ARTISTS
Judith Gordon, pianist
ChatterABQ | Music from Salem
Pianist Judith Gordon explores diverse repertoire in collaboration with an exceptionally wide range of solo artists and ensembles. She was a member of the percussion-based Essential Music, focusing on the American Experimental tradition, and has been soloist in works from Bach and Ravel to Cage and Boulez with groups including the Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Gordon has been a consulting director of Music from Salem, in Washington County, NY, and the Harvard, MA, Chamber Music Workshop, as well as a featured performer at the Apple Hill, Bard, Bennington, Charlottesville, Music Mountain, Rockport, Santa Fe Chamber Music, and Tanglewood festivals. An associate professor of music at Smith College from 2006-20, she is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, where she recently received an Outstanding Alumni Award. Now based in New Mexico, she plays regularly with the musicians of ChatterABQ.
Hyun Jeong Helen Lee, violin
The Julius Quartet | Music from Salem
Violinist Hyun Jeong Helen, praised for her “superior [and] excellent” artistry (The Flint Journal), has mesmerized audiences throughout North America and Asia. As a soloist, she has performed with the Garland Symphony, Los Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Arlington, Chichibu Festival Orchestra, Royal Oak Symphony Orchestra, and The Boston Conservatory String Ensemble as winner of the String Ensemble Concerto Competition. As a first violinist of the award-winning Julius Quartet, Helen performs regularly across the country in addition to continuing the group’s commitment to engaging diverse communities through educational residencies and performance workshops. Under the Peak Fellowship, Helen served as a Teaching Assistant and Assistant Chamber Music Coach at the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. She is a regular performer at Music from Salem, in upstate NY.
Jesus J. Martinez
Resident Composer | Executive Director
Jesus Martinez is an award-winning Texas-born composer whose music bridges concert hall and cinema. A graduate of Southern Methodist University (M.M. in Music Composition), he has served as Composer-in-Residence for the Alabama Orchestra Association and Irving Symphony Orchestra. His works have been premiered nationwide, including Harmonic Tremor, Threnody for 9/11, and Echoes from a Memory—commissioned by The Sixth Floor Museum for the 60th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. Martinez’s film scores have earned festival nominations, and his orchestral and chamber works have been featured by ensembles such as the Alabama Symphony, Julius Quartet, and the Albany Symphony. A three-time ASCAP Plus Award winner and GRAMMY Music Educator Award quarterfinalist, he co-founded Emerge Coalition, a Dallas nonprofit dedicated to advancing contemporary music.
Adam Scott Neal
Guest Composer | Southern Methodist University
Adam Scott Neal (b. 1981, Atlanta) is a composer whose primary inspiration is the technology of music — from traditional instruments to computers, electronics, and toys. His pieces reflect both the physical and sonic properties of instruments, as well as their shifting meanings in music and culture. Recognized as “exquisitely crafted,” Adam’s music “draws the listener inward, encouraging intimate dialogue” (Creative Loafing). His aesthetic is post-minimal, drawing from influences such as Claude Debussy, Brian Eno, Morton Feldman, David Lang, Steve Roden, and Anton Webern. Adam earned a PhD at the University of Florida and previous degrees at Queen’s University Belfast and Georgia State University. Adam has enjoyed nearly 300 performances of his music in 22 countries. Groups for whom he has composed include Bent Frequency, Beo String Quartet, Chamber Cartel, Iktus Percussion, and loadbang. He is Program Manager for Undergraduate Research programs at Southern Methodist University, and lives in Dallas, TX with his wife and two sons.
TESTIMONIALS
What people are saying…
“The EMERGE workshop was an incredibly useful experience in terms of the opportunity it gave me to receive feedback on and a performance of my own work, but it also offered the additional benefit of exposing me to other contemporary composers and their unique and interesting styles. Having been such a boon for composers of works for string quartet, this kind of program should be offered in conjunction with other ensembles like wind quartets, piano trios, and the like.”
- Alex Staten | Inaugural EMERGE Virtual Workshop & Performance Participant
“I appreciated how the quartet was really willing to engage with the music and seek the intent behind it. They gave good notational/musical suggestions!”
- Andrew Faulkenberry | Inaugural EMERGE Virtual Workshop & Performance Participant
“It really warms my heart to see such love and care for new music, and that you all are doing your very best to help kick start some young composer development—it was truly an honour and pleasure to work with you all!”
- Michael Selvaggi | EMERGE Winter Virtual Workshop & Performance
“It was amazing to hear my piece come to life. This is definitely an experience that I will remember for a long time to come. And the things I learned from the workshops I will definitely use later in my composing career.”
- Djuan' Moreland | EMERGE Winter Virtual Workshop & Performance
SUPPORT
Thank you …
The EMERGE Virtual Workshops & Performances could not be possible without the generous support of our participating sponsors including Artstillery, West Plano Presbyterian Church and the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. Support for previous workshops also includes grants from organizations such as the BMI Foundation.
Learn more about how you can become a participating sponsor for the EMERGE New Music Workshop & Performance