Composer Workshops
WoCo Fest 2026: Transcend
Boulanger Initiative’s annual multi-day Women Composers Festival (WoCo Fest) features works by women and gender-marginalized composers, performed by local and nationally-acclaimed performers. WoCo Fest 2026: Transcend features our Composer Workshops which are process-based, exploratory music workshops offering women and gender-marginalized composers the extraordinary opportunity to workshop their ideas in real time in front of a live audience and hear their works-in-progress performed by cellist Erin Snedecor and violinist Sandy Choi. These workshops are a safe space for composers to try out ideas which may or may not work and to take artistic risks that could lead them in an exciting new direction. It's also a thrilling opportunity for the audience to watch the creative process, so often behind-the-scenes, at work in real time.
The Composer Workshops will have three categories; students currently enrolled in a music degree program, composers 40 years and older, and an open category for all women and gender-marginalized regardless of age or schooling. Composers interested in participating should send one representative score (does not need to be written for violin and cello, show us who you are!) and a short cover letter (1 or 2 written or video recorded paragraphs) about what appeals to them about the process by 11:59 PM ET on March 19th. The 6 selected composers will then write 2-4 minutes of unfinished musical material for violin and cello to workshop live with the musicians. Finished pieces will not be accepted. We're looking for composers willing to take an artistic risk, able to workshop their material with an ensemble for approximately 30 minutes, who are comfortable doing so in front of a live audience. Selected composers will be notified March 24th and receive a $200 travel honorarium.
WoCo Fest Composer Workshops will be produced in collaboration between Boulanger Initiative, Erin Snedecor, and Sandy Choi, and take place on Saturday, April 25th, from 3:00 PM-8:00 PM at The Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD.
Apply Here: