GCNA Franco Carillon Proposal Contest

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) invites submissions for the biennial Franco Carillon Composition Proposal Contest. The carillon is a uniquely public instrument whose sounds soar over city squares, parks, and college campuses. The GCNA encourages composers who are relatively new to carillon composition to enter the Proposal Contest in order to receive support through the compositional process of a new carillon piece. The goals of this contest are to bring new voices to the carillon repertoire and to increase awareness of the carillon and its vast technical and expressive capabilities. Prize-winning proposals will be awarded US$2,000 and will be published and premiered at the next GCNA Congress.

What we're looking for

Type: Entries must be a proposal to write an original composition for carillon. Your proposal should contain:

• One to three sample scores demonstrating your best work in any genre. At least one of the sample scores must be paired with a corresponding audio recording. While scores for any instrumentation are welcome, we particularly encourage keyboard and/or solo instrumental scores, and/or any scores you would consider most related to the carillon.
• A description of your compositional experience (suggested max 250 words).
• A statement (about 500–1,000 words) detailing the ideas and direction of the proposed work. Sketches or images (e.g. motivic material, themes, compositional structure) may be submitted as well.

Open to: Everyone, except members of the Franco Committee. Composers who have written extensively for carillon will also generally not be considered and should instead enter the Franco Composition Contest; for example, composers who have had several works published by the GCNA or similar organizations, previously won a prize for an original piece of music written for carillon, etc.

Quantity: Only 1 entry is allowed.

Submission deadline: June 16, 2026.

No entry fee.

Prizes

Two prizes will be awarded. Both winners will receive US$2,000. Their compositions will be published by the GCNA, promoted on the GCNA website, and premiered at the 2027 GCNA Congress.

How to enter

To enter the competition:

1. Anonymize the materials of your proposal by removing your name and any identifying information.
2. Email your anonymized proposal and your contact information to franco@gcna.org.

Questions? Email franco@gcna.org.