March 2025
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New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute

DEADLINE TO APPLY HAS PASSED!
Winners for the 2025 Edward T. Cone Composition Institute will be announced this spring!

The New Jersey Symphony is holding the eleventh annual Edward T. Cone Composition Institute this summer. This multifaceted, tuition-free Institute is an opportunity designed to promote contemporary orchestral music by enhancing the careers of four emerging composers. Winning composers will have their music performed by the New Jersey Symphony and will participate in in-depth career development sessions with industry leaders.

Celebrated composer Steven Mackey, a music professor and director of graduate studies in composition at Princeton University, is the institute director. Christopher Rountree, a highly-regarded conductor and composer who is deeply embedded in new music scene, returns as the Institute’s guest conductor.

The Institute is open to university composition students and composers in the early stages of their professional careers. Composers selected for this tuition-free program will participate in a week of the following activities:

  • Rehearsals and premiere performance of their work by the New Jersey Symphony in a public concert
  • One-on-one and group coaching sessions with Institute Director Steven Mackey and conductor Christopher Rountree
  • Career-development sessions on public speaking, music editing and networking skills
  • Feedback sessions with music industry leaders, New Jersey Symphony musicians and staff
  • Discussions of best practices for getting contemporary classical music funded, published and performed

The 2025 Cone Institute will take place July 14–19, 2025 in Princeton, culminating in a public performance at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, NJ on Saturday, July 19 at 8 pm. The performance will be conducted by Christopher Rountree. The Institute is presented in collaboration with the Princeton University Music Department.

Composers will receive housing and meals in Princeton. The New Jersey Symphony will also reimburse up to $250 of participants’ travel costs.

For questions or more information, please send an email to coneinstitute@njsymphony.org.

Note: In order to participate, applicants must have the appropriate US visa or residency status to be present at Princeton University during the Cone Composition Institute dates, and must be at least 18 years of age.

Learn More About the Institute

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The Symphony presents the Institute in collaboration with Princeton University Department of Music.

The New Jersey Symphony celebrates the cultural vibrancy of our communities and builds meaningful relationships that elevate and strengthen them. We are committed to diversity and equal opportunity in our recruitment of composers. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to apply for the New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute.

Major underwriting support for the New Jersey Symphony Edward T. Cone Composition Institute is generously provided by the Edward T. Cone Foundation and Princeton University.