Bridges - Soundstreams

Bridges: Emerging Composers Workshop and Showcase

Program Dates: February 21 – February 28, 2027
Visiting Mentor: James MacMillan
Resident Ensemble: Mezzo-soprano, Flute, Clarinet, Percussion and Piano.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Application Deadline: Tuesday, October 20^th, 2026 (11:59pm EST) 

Soundstreams’ Bridges: Emerging Composers Program is an annual week-long tuition-free program that brings together celebrated mentors, a professional resident ensemble, and six emerging composers from around the world to each develop and premiere a new work, presented as part of Soundstreams’ main stage concert series in Toronto, ON.

Each participant will receive a $1,000 honorarium for composing their new work and free accommodation in Toronto for the duration of the workshop.

APPLICATION FORM

2024 Emerging Composer Cohort — 2024 Bridges composers
with mentors Paul Grabowsky & André Ristic

2024 Bridges composers
with mentors Paul Grabowsky & André Ristic

The workshop week includes seminars, networking events, rehearsals, 1-1 mentorship sessions, and professional development activities that foster new connections, artistic development, and lifelong career building.

The 2027 edition of Soundstreams’ Bridges Emerging Composers Program will feature James MacMillan as the mentor-composer-in-residence. Invited participants will write a short piece (5-minutes maximum) for Mezzo-soprano, Flute, Clarinet, Percussion and Piano. Works with additional instruments, electronics, or additional production requirements will not be considered.

The final showcase will be part of Soundstream’s mainstage concert ‘Angels Unawares’, presented on February 27^th, 2027, at Metropolitan United Church, Toronto, ON.

Successful applicants will be expected to submit scores for their completed 5-minute work by January 11, 2027.  

ABOUT MENTOR & COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

Sir James MacMillan* is one of today’s most successful composers and performs internationally as a conductor. His musical language is flooded with influences from his Scottish heritage, Catholic faith, social conscience and close connection with Celtic folk music, and is distinctive for its rhythmic excitement and powerful emotional communication.

MacMillan first became internationally recognized after the extraordinary success of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie at the BBC Proms in 1990. His prolific output has since been performed and broadcast around the world. His major works include percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, which has been performed more than 500 times, a cello concerto for Mstislav Rostropovich and five symphonies. Recent major works include his Percussion Concerto No.2 for Colin Currie, Violin Concerto No.2 for Nicola Benedetti and his Symphony No.5, written for The Sixteen and premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2019 as part of a major feature to celebrate his 60th birthday. Several new works for chorus and orchestra have been premiered in recent seasons including his Christmas Oratorio premiered by the London Philharmonic in 2021 and Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia, a celebration of the power of music, premiered by the Cincinnati Symphony and the Hallé Orchestra in 2023-2024. In the 2025-26 season, MacMillan’s new work Angels Unawares was premiered at The Sistine Chapel, the first concert work to receive its world premiere at this location, and at Cadogan Hall by The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia.

* Sir James MacMillan was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 2015 and appointed a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in 2026. He also holds the rank of Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Eligible applicants must self-identify as “emerging.” To help determine if you fit into this category, consider whether one or more of the following statements apply to you:

You are currently studying or recently graduated from a related post-graduate degree/program or other formal training.

You devote 24 hours a week or more to the pursuit of your art.

You have not yet had a major commission or presentation opportunity (or if you have it’s not yet a regular occurrence in your career)

Selected participants must be available to attend all workshop dates in Toronto, Canada from February 21 – 28, 2027.

The program is open to applicants from Canada and internationally. International participants are responsible for obtaining the required visa to travel to Canada. All travel expenses are the responsibility of the participant. Accommodation is provided free of charge to participants.

We welcome applications from composers of all backgrounds and musical traditions. The Workshop depends on participants’ ability to use musical notation; however, if musical notation is not part of your practice, we may be able to consider ways to accommodate your needs if this has been identified at the time of application.

Please note that the Workshop is delivered in English.

APPLY NOW

ABOUT BRIDGES EMERGING COMPOSERS PROGRAM

Bridges is an annual week-long tuition-free program that brings together celebrated composer-mentors, a professional resident ensemble, and six emerging composers chosen through a competition. Composers selected to participate are given the opportunity to develop and premiere a short new work for a professional resident ensemble with mentorship from a distinguished visiting composer.

The program also includes professional development workshops on subjects including publishing, commissioning, approaching artistic directors/producers with your music, and making a living as a composer. Initiated in 2013, Bridges visiting mentor composers have included: R. Murray Schafer, Unsuk Chin, Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho, and Chris Paul Harman, Paul Grabowsky, and André Ristic. Resident ensembles have included the Gryphon Trio, the Ralston String Quartet and TORQ.

ANTI-RACISM, ACCESS AND EQUITY AT SOUNDSTREAMS

At Soundstreams we recognize that barriers to services exist for members of diverse communities, particularly for equity seeking groups, and we are committed to acting as a positive force in eliminating these barriers.

To achieve this, Soundstreams will:

ensure that diverse communities have equitable access to its services, resources and decision making.
be non-discriminatory and promote the goals of antiracism, access, and equity; and
take reasonable steps to ensure its services, programs and decision making reflect the community it serves

Soundstreams is committed to maintaining an environment where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect and are free from all forms of discriminatory treatment, behaviour or practice.

Applicants may choose to disclose any accessibility needs or concerns related to applying and/or attending the Workshop. Soundstreams will endeavour to support accessibility needs wherever possible.