Pacific Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce the sixth-year annual Winning Scores reading workshop with a concluding public performance to take place Sunday October 25, 2026, in Livermore, CA. The program is open to emerging composers (under 40 at the time of the workshop) who are to submit new works that represent/ emanate from or are dedicated to an aspect of the cultural heritages and diversity that constitutes our American tapestry. Winning Scores is open only to composers who are U.S. Citizens, permanent U.S. residents or are establishing themselves as such and able to provide supporting documentation. BIPOC, ALANA, and LGBTQIA, URG applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. PCO is committed to inclusiveness.

Up to five composers will be selected for participation. Each participating composer will receive a $500 award. Selection is based upon three factors: the quality of the work submitted, it’s expression of the theme, and the potential benefit and growth for the composer. All decisions are at the discretion of the judges and are final. Selected composers must attend to participate and are responsible for all their own expenses. PCO may be able to host individual composers.

Timeline:

• Deadline for applications and score submissions: August 26, 2025 @ 11:59 PM
• Notification of winners: no later than September 1, 2025
• Parts must arrive by October 1, If the parts are not received by this date, there is no guarantee that the composer will be allowed to participate, the work will be read or the award granted.

Opportunities and process once selected:

• Each composer will have a zoom meeting with the conductor prior to the workshop.
• A google doc forum with orchestra members will allow for technical matters to be addressed.
• During the workshop each work will be read, discussed with conductor & Composer Mentors and rehearsed. A final public performance, audience Q&A, followed by a celebratory dinner with patrons.
• There will be either a zoom or in-person review panel discussion with all workshop participants, the composer mentors and conductor.
• The public performance will be videotaped and recorded for private study purposes, applications, and resume portfolios for seeking other commissions.  All other uses must be first approved by PCO. All public displays and sharing including website, social media, YouTube, etc. are expressly prohibited.

 Submission requirements:

• Preferably 6-8 minutes of music with 5 minutes minimum and 10 minutes maximum.
• May be a complete piece, a movement or section of a larger work.
• This is to be an orchestral work, not a soloist vehicle.
• It must not have been read or performed by a professional orchestra.
• If it is a version of a pre-existing work, it must be substantially different.

Instrumental requirements:

Maximum allowed: 1 flute (pic), 1 oboe (EH), 1 clarinet (Bass/E-flat), 1 bassoon, 1 French horn, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, 1 harp, 6 Violin I, 5 Violin II, 4 Viola, 3 Cello, 1 String Bass, 3 total percussions (instruments allowed are timpani, vibraphone, various drums and small percussion instruments.  Please inquire as to the availability of other percussion instruments). Minimum required: Full strings plus at least 5 other non-percussion instruments.

Click Here to Apply or for questions email

Administrator@PacificChamberOrchestra.org

 About Pacific Chamber Orchestra

The Pacific Chamber Orchestra (PCO), now in its 36th season, is a regional professional ensemble dedicated to sustaining and extending the rich heritage of classical music for chamber orchestra through inspiring performances and engaging educational programs designed to enrich the local communities.

PCO musicians perform in the San Francisco Symphony, Opera or Ballet Orchestras, touring Broadway shows and feature films recorded at Skywalker Ranch. PCO is a resident company of Livermore’s Bankhead Theater and also performs concert series in Lafayette. For more information, visit https://www.pacificchamberorchestra.org/.

About Maestro Lawrence Kohl

Frequently noted by critics for his creative programming and bold interpretations, Kohl was awarded special recognition in 2016 by the Cultural Arts Commission of Contra Costa County for his contribution to the arts.

Kohl’s creative work led to the marketing firm AKQA receiving a Silver Lion award from the 2013 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Kohl was chosen to premier a new work for the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations held at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Awarded the UCLA Music Department’s first University Chancellor Fellowship, Kohl did his doctoral work in Systematic Musicology while also holding the position of Conducting Teaching Associate under Samuel Krachmalnick, Leonard Bernstein’s chosen conductor of his original Broadway production of “Candide.” Kohl later also worked with Golfredo Corradetti, Arturo Toscanini’s only conducting assistant. A consummate clarinetist, Kohl has performed chamber music internationally and toured with the San Francisco Symphony. Videos about PCO and Kohl can be seen on our website: www.pacificchamberorchestra.org

Mika Pelo, Composer Mentor

Swedish composer Mika Pelo writes music for soloists, chamber ensembles, and orchestras, with or without electronics. Recent accolades include a Fromm commission from Harvard University, and being named a Guggenheim Fellow.  Upcoming projects include an opera, a commission from the Peterson-Berger Foundation, and a new string quartet for a consortium of quartets on two continents.

Mika’s music has been performed by St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and David Robertson, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck, Prague Philharmonia, Serbian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Holland Radio Chamber Orchestra and Peter Eötvös, Rolf Hind, Miranda Cuckson, Mana Saxophone Quartet, Kwartludium Ensemble in Poland, Earplay, Empyrean Ensemble amongst others.

His music has been played at festivals such as the Nuova Consonanza in Rome, Prague Spring Festival, Warsaw Autumn, Teheran Contemporary Music Days, Dark Music Days in Iceland and others.

He holds a doctorate in composition from Columbia University and is Professor of Composition at University of California, Davis. His principal composition teachers include Tristan Murail and Bent Sørensen.

Pelo is inspired by the French so-called spectral composers and Scandinavian lyricism and describes his method of composition as “controlled dreaming.” The Strad magazine writes that Pelo’s music “fashions a fascinating mosaic of sonorities,” and the Irish Times writes that Pelo’s music is built by “gestures that were once the province of the avant-garde . . . here pliably exploited by a sensibility that sounded decidedly romantic.” His music is published by Edition Peters, Germany.