Area 5 Composition Contest 2027

You’re invited to share your music with Area 5! We’re calling on handbell enthusiasts to submit original compositions that make our unique instrument shine.

Please read the details below carefully. We look forward to hearing your compositions!

Contest information

  • Organizer: Handbell Musicians of America, Area 5
  • Eligibility: This contest is open to composers of all backgrounds. Entrants do not need prior music-writing experience and are not required to live in Area 5. Members of the Area 5 Board/Composition Contest Committee and their immediate family members are ineligible to enter during their term of service.
  • Evaluation: Entries will be anonymized and evaluated by a panel of five judges, one from each state in Area 5.
  • Prize: The winning composer will receive a $1500 honorarium and the winning composition will be incorporated into the 2028 Area 5 festival repertoire.
  • Submission deadline: July 15, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The winning composition will be announced by August 31, 2027. The Area 5 Composition Contest Committee reserves the right to name no winner if the submitted entries do not meet the stated criteria.

Composition guidelines

The composition should be:
  • An original composition.
  • Not already published.
  • Written for 3-5 octaves of handbells. (Handchimes and auxiliary instruments are permitted, but handbells should remain the focus.)
  • 3 to 6 minutes in length.
  • Suitable for a massed ringing setting
  • Written using standard notation as described in Handbell Musicians of America’s publication “AGEHR Handbell & Handchime Notation.”
  • AGEHR Level 3 or below.

Submission guidelines

  • Entries must be sent to Composition Contest Chair Lora Lee Curren at loraleecurren1103@gmail.com by July 15, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Receipt of each submission will be acknowledged within 72 hours. If no acknowledgement of receipt is given by the end of this timeframe, the submission has not been received.
  • Entries must include the following items.
    1. The subject line of the e-mail must contain “Area 5 Composition Contest.”
    2. Composer contact information, including full name, email address, mailing address, and phone number. This information will only be used by the chair and not distributed to the judges.
    3. PDF attachment of the composition score. The score must not include the composer’s name.
    4. MP3 attachment (or other audio version) of the composition.
  • Entrants may submit as many compositions as they wish, but each composition must be sent in a separate email with the aforementioned attachments.

Publication

  • Area 5 reserves the right to pen the dedication line if the composition is published, regardless of whether the rights to publication of the composition are under ownership of the composer or Area 5.