ITA Composition Competition

Welcome to the International Trombone Association Composition Competition (ITACC)! ITACC provides composers with an opportunity to showcase their writing for trombone ensemble. Composers are invited to submit original works for either trombone octet or trombone quartet.

Winning compositions will be announced in April during International Trombone Week (ITW). The winning compositions will have a featured professional performance. Composers may have additional performances and promotional interviews highlighting their winning compositions.

In pursuit of diversity, we especially invite individuals from under-represented groups to apply.

Winning composers will receive:

A featured professional performance at a future International Trombone Festival and a complimentary festival registration.
1 three-year Regular Membership to the International Trombone Association.
Promotion of the winning composition during International Trombone Week.
$100 gift certificate to ITA’s Merchandise Shop.

As a condition of accepting the award, each winning composer must agree to one of the following distribution options for a period of one year following the announcement of the competition results:

Grant the International Trombone Association permission to make the winning composition (sheet music) available to the public free of charge for one year; or
Provide a worldwide discount code offering 25% off the purchase price of the winning composition (sheet music) for one year.

Composition Requirements

Note: Composers may submit works in either the octet or quartet category, or both. A maximum of two compositions per category may be submitted.

To be eligible for consideration, submissions must meet the following requirements:

Octet Category: Scored for 8 trombones (6 Tenor and 2 Bass Trombones).
Quartet Category: Scored for 4 trombones (3 Tenor and 1 Bass Trombone).
The composition must be an original work by the submitter. No arrangements are allowed.
The composition must have been completed during the current eligibility period (2025 or 2026). Previously published works are eligible only if their original publication date falls within the current eligibility period.
The composition must be between 6 and 8 minutes in length. Length is determined by the duration of the submitted MP3 recording.
Submission must be clearly formatted (with a score and individual parts included) in a single PDF file. Exact tempo and style indications must be included. The composer’s name must be written in the score. No handwritten scores accepted.
Each submission must include one PDF score (individual parts included; max 15MB) and one MIDI recording (WAV or mp3; max 30MB).
You may submit up to two compositions for consideration in each category (octet and quartet).
By submitting a work to the ITACC, the composer certifies that the submission complies with ITACC Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy (click on the link to read the whole policy).

Deadline: Registration opens on October 12, and qualifying submissions are due by December 14, 2026. Judging will take place in early 2027 by a panel of judges and trombone ensembles. The winning composition will be announced in April 2027.

Judging: will begin in January 2027 and the winner will be announced in April 2027. The judges’ decision is final.

Questions? Contact us at: ItaCompContest@gmail.com

For more information, please visit:

Please note: The ITA Composition Competition is a separate event from the International Trombone Festival Composers Workshop. The ITF Composers Workshop requires a separate application.