Songwriting Contest

Womansong is excited to announce our first songwriting contest! We are now accepting submissions for an original song that celebrates gender expansiveness. The song will be arranged for and performed by Womansong, a social justice-oriented treble-voice chorus. Our goal is to support songwriters in our region, as well as to increase the repertoire of choral music that speaks to the topic of gender diversity.

The contest is open to all Western North Carolina songwriters and composers. The chosen winner will receive a stipend of $1,000 and the opportunity to perform the song with the chorus at our Spring 2025 concert, “A Room Of Our Own” (travel expenses will be covered as needed).  In addition, the winning song will be promoted to other choruses in Sister Singers, a national network of feminist choruses.

This songwriting contest is part of our 3-concert series project entitled “Women – Together We Can Change the World.” This series will focus on how women* have and will change the world by moving from the legacy of the powerful women who have come before us (Spring 2024), to the changing conception of what a woman is and can be (Fall 2024), to the powerful messages and voices women have and will continue to have through woman-composed songs (Spring 2025). 

*We define the words woman/women as being gender-expansive, denoting people who identify as a woman and as gender-nonconforming or transgender.

If desired, the experienced composers in Womansong will offer songwriting mentoring to the winner, who will collaborate on (or simply approve) the choral arrangement (and accompaniment).

Submission guidelines: 

-EXTENDED: Submit by October 15, 2024.

-Winner will be announced in early November 2024. Premiere performance will be at our May 2025 concerts in Asheville. 

-All songwriters based in Western North Carolina qualify. 

-There is no fee for submissions.

-You may submit up to 3 songs.

-Submit full song(s) between 2-6 minutes in length (melody with lyrics accepted)

-You can submit a lyric sheet with a simple audio recording (cell phone recordings accepted) and/or in sheet music notation. 

-Knowledge of music theory and/or arranging is not necessary. Songwriter is not responsible for arranging the song for treble chorus, but pre-arranged song submissions are accepted.

-Song will be selected on various criteria, but especially on how well it expresses inclusiveness, diversity, and gender expansiveness.

Submit questions and/or completed songs to: womansongcontest@gmail.com