Last Month in Music

Welcome to a review of music for August - including new opportunities, playlists of released music, news in the industry, and more! We’re a little late on this one, but wanted to share it nonetheless :)

Featured Interview

Industry News

1. Julia Wolfe’s UK Residency and Vibrant New Work

   Pulitzer winner Julia Wolfe brings her high-energy, genre-bending new work Fountain of Youth to the UK in a bold residency with the BBC Philharmonic. Read more…

2. Katarina Barruk’s Proms Debut Elevates Indigenous Sámi Culture
   This year’s Proms lit up with premieres—from Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s cello concerto to Mark Simpson’s electric-guitar concerto ZEBRA—alongside incredible performances of Mahler and Shostakovich. Read more…

3. “The Proms Go Wild: Shibe’s Guitar Roars, Berlioz Haunts”
   In a daring BBC Proms pairing, Mark Simpson’s electric-guitar concerto ZEBRA (for Sean Shibe) merges prog-rock bravado with orchestral color, followed by a hallucinatory rendering of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique—a “fever dream” of obsession and gothic fantasy under Anja Bihlmaier’s direction. Read more…

Music Releases

Listen to the latest and greatest compositions that came out this month, including orchestral works, experimental music, film scores, and more.

Check out the custom playlist I created for you here:

Upcoming Opportunities:

1. Vienna New Year’s Concert International Music Competition

   Deadline: October 5th

   Inviting composers worldwide of all ages to submit works up to 15 minutes for the chance to have them performed at Vienna’s prestigious Musikverein in January 10, 2026.

   Apply Here

2. 2025 Recording Projects (Ditson Fund / Columbia University)

   Deadline: October 15th

   This program supports documentation and broader exposure of works by living composers, especially those lesser-known, via recordings.

   Apply Here

3. The American Prize in Composition (2025–26 edition)

   Deadline: October 14th

   Awards in categories such as orchestra, chamber, choral, opera/theater/film/dance, etc.

   Apply Here

4. Ongoing Competitions

   You can find more opportunities for competitions linked below.

   Search Here

Last Month in History

August 1829 - Mendelssohn Revives Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Berlin

While Bach’s St. Matthew Passion was written in 1727, it had largely fallen into obscurity until August 1829, when Felix Mendelssohn, just 20 years old, conducted a landmark revival performance in Berlin.

This concert—condensed but powerfully received—helped spark the 19th-century “Bach Revival”, which restored Bach’s place at the center of Western music history and permanently influenced how composers (and audiences) engaged with earlier repertoire.

 Listen here…

Community Corner

I’d love to feature one of YOUR compositions or news about what YOU’RE doing! You can submit to be featured for the next month here:

Please share this with any composers you know who could benefit from and enjoy this newsletter!

Until next time,

Nadia