Young Composers Initiative

OMEA Young Composers Initiative 2026 Composition Competition

The OMEA Young Composers Initiative was created to encourage, foster, and promote musical creativity across Ohio’s young music students. The founding board members are all professional composers and teachers in the state of Ohio: 

Dr. Jennifer Merkowitz, chair (Otterbein University), Dr. Marc Ainger (Ohio State University), Dr. Carolyn Borcherding (Baldwin Wallace University), Dr. Cara Haxo (The Walden School), Dr. Matthew Kennedy (Heidelberg University), Dr. Robert McClure (Ohio University), and Dr. Marilyn Shrude (Bowling Green State University).

The board members will serve as judges for the 2026 Composition Competition and will mentor the winning composers through virtual lessons in preparation for the performance of their selected composition at the 2026 OMEA Professional Development Conference in Columbus, OH, January 29-31, 2026. The session is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 9:30-10:30am.

This year’s performing ensemble is a duo from Bowling Green State University:

Jake Loitz is a saxophonist deeply familiar with the contemporary music scene. He is dedicated to the promotion, creation, and performance of new music, and is always looking to make a new composer's voice heard. As a performer, Jake has been on the premiere performances of 10+ new works with saxophone, and is involved in important consortiums for new saxophone music. As a teacher, Jake is a saxophone teaching assistant at Bowling Green State University, and has taught in public schools. He is excited to continue developing his career of saxophone teaching and performing as a BGSU doctoral student.

Chris Harris is a percussionist, composer and educator from Fairfield, California. He currently lives in Bowling Green, Ohio and is completing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Contemporary Music at Bowling Green State University. With contemporary music at the forefront of his degree, commissioning and performing new works are important to Chris. He focuses on the intersection of inclusive cultural programming and electro-acoustic music. Many of his commissions are from composers with roots in Colombia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Iran and Taiwan. Often, his commissions include electronic elements, with works using concepts such as fixed media and live processing of sounds.

The details of the 2026 Composition Competition are below:

Eligibility

The Competition is only open to students who meet the following criteria:

(1) Ohio Resident
(2) Sponsored by an OMEA member
(3) Currently enrolled in grade 7-12
(4) Not a previous winner of OMEAYCI

Composition Guidelines

1. The submitted composition must be written for a duo of alto saxophone and percussion.

2. Compositions of any style or aesthetic direction will be accepted.

3. The submitted composition’s duration should be between 3-10 minutes.

4. Each student may only submit ONE composition to the competition.

5. Specific instrument guidelines/notation:

Alto saxophone: No restrictions; feel free to use the full capabilities of the instrument. Extended techniques, particularly slap tongue, are welcome.

Percussion: Please write for any combination of the following instruments. Together this could be an entire multi-percussion setup. IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR A SETUP DIAGRAM AND SUGGESTED NOTATION LEGEND. Download a copy of the guidelines at the bottom of the page if you are having trouble seeing the images. 

• Glockenspiel (1) (sounds G5 - C8, written G3 – C6)
• Suspended Cymbal(s) (maximum of 2)
• Tuned Metal Pipes (maximum of 6) (range available from B3 - F5)
• Non-Pitched Wooden Planks (maximum of 5)
• Kick Drum (1)
• Toms (maximum of 2)

Implements Available: hard rubber mallet, hard plastic mallet, soft - hard yarn mallet, bass bow (x2), timbale sticks, snare sticks, chopsticks, knitting needles, super ball mallet