Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program Conference: Music and Storytelling

What are the stories that music can tell us? This conference focuses on the stories about the music-makers of the past and present, including composers, performers, and curators. We invite music students, professionals, and audiences to attend all of our events!

May 19–21

Sarasota, FL

Registrations are open until April 27 (late deadline, May 10)

OPEN CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS AND LECTURE PERFORMANCES!

LEARN MORE ABOUT CONFERENCE EVENTS, APPLICATION, AND REGISTRATION BELOW

The Spirit of SCFP:

Bringing together artists, curators, researchers, and those passionate about classical and contemporary music in one of the arts capitals in the United States: Sarasota, FL.

Join us for the launch of this new conference!

The SCFP Conference is a forum for the stewardship and innovation of classical music practices through exchange between the field’s diverse artistic and academic practitioners. This year’s conference centers on Music and Storytelling and is hosted at Marriott ALoft Sarasota Hotel and the Selby Library in Downtown Sarasota

The SCFP Conference will bring together students and professionals in various disciplines–performers and composers, academics and researchers, curators and presenters–in Sarasota, FL to address challenging questions around the preservation, creation, and promotion of encounters with classical music.

Keynote lectures from performer and curator Annie Dutoit-Argerich, historian Jane Gottleib, producer Tyler Kline, and faculty directors Max Tan and Sean Friar will anchor wider presentations of applicant modules. Topics examined will include (but are not limited to):

  • The creation and examination of musical texts (through composition, performance, sociocultural and historical research/analysis, etc.)

  • The creation, maintenance, and function of a canon of texts (composer/contemporary music advocacy, curation, creation of performance forums, etc.)

  • Analysis of classical music’s role in broader cultural and societal landscapes (cultivating audiences, mission, etc.)

The full conference schedule is available below.

QUICK INFO!

DATES: May 19–21

VENUES:

  • Sarasota Music Archive

  • Geldbart Auditorium at Selby Library in downtown Sarasota

  • Marriott Sarasota Aloft Hotel Conference Room

  • Marriott Sarasota Aloft Hotel W XYZ Bar

  • Sarasota Music Conservatory

  • Holley Hall at the Sarasota Orchestra Symphony Center

  • Conference will include some virtual webinar events hosted on Google Meets

Keynote Speakers and Resident Artists

More details about keynote speakers and resident artists to be posted by mid-March. Please review the schedule posted above for details about speakers.

Presentation and Lecture Performance Application Information!

This conference celebrates not only stories in the classical music but the stories about music-makers, manuscripts, historical documents, and more. Topics examined will include (but are not limited to):

  • The creation and examination of musical texts (through composition, performance, sociocultural and historical research/analysis, etc.)

  • The creation, maintenance, and function of a canon of texts (composer/contemporary music advocacy, curation, creation of performance forums, etc.)

  • Analysis of classical music’s role in broader cultural and societal landscapes (cultivation of audiences, mission, etc.)

We welcome artists who are scholars, performers, curators, composers, or all of the above to share their work on or related to the topics listed. We especially welcome current DMA or PhD candidates or recent graduates and offer a platform to exchange research findings with practitioners of the musical art form. 

At this conference, there are several opportunities for presentations and lecture-performances. Please note the following:

  1. There are 10 slots available, with maximum 7 presentation slots and 5 lecture-recital slots. Each slot is maximum 20 minutes long and includes a Q&A with attendees at your session.

  2. You may apply to give a presentation and/or give a lecture-performance limited to 20 minutes. If selected, you will only be awarded one slot.

  3. For lecture-performance slots, the recommended total maximum amount of playing is around 10 minutes.

  4. There is no application fee.

  5. Admitted presenters and performers will receive a 25% discount on the conference registration fee. 

The deadline for this application is March 17, 2025 at 11:59pm Eastern.

Applications received AFTER the deadline will be considered on a rolling basis.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

  1. Your CV as a PDF, containing your education history, mentors, festival and performance history, etc.

  2. 1 Recommender Contact. This can be a current or past teacher, artistic or academic advisor, or colleague–someone who can advocate for you. Please provide the full name and email of your recommender, and we will reach out to your recommender for a letter on your behalf after you submit this application. Please make sure they have agreed to provide you a letter of recommendation.

  3. Program Aims Statement: In this essay space, feel free to submit a short statement on what your aims are for attending the conference (up to 300 words).

Materials for LECTURE-PERFORMANCE:

  • Abstract

  • Link to a video performance sample (need not be of the repertoire that will be presented, but we recommend that the musical style is similar to what you intend to present at the conference. For example, if you intend to speak about Mozart manuscripts, a video sample of you performing Haydn concerto or any solo work from the Classical period is preferable to a recording of you performing Davidovsky Synchronisms.)

Materials for LECTURE PRESENTATIONS:

  • Abstract

  • Lecture Slides (optional for application, we will ask for the complete paper and slides by April 25 for selected speakers)

Please note that should you be accepted to this program, and you are born on or after May 16, 2007, you MUST attend this program with a parent or a legal guardian.

Attendance Registrations Only

This is not an application form for prospective presentations or lecture-performances.

SCFP HOTEL ROOM BLOCK

Conference attendees will be staying at the Marriott Sarasota Aloft Hotel.

You can access the booking page for a discounted rate of $159/night after registering for the conference.