• The work should be for a choir of up to 60 voices, must have a minimum division of four parts (SATB) and maximum eight parts (SSAATTBB). We welcome solo roles, although compositions should be primarily choral in focus, and text in any language.
• The work may be a cappella OR accompanied by up to three instruments, eg a piano and two trumpets; a violin, and viola and a cello.
• The work should be approx. 3 – 8 minutes in duration
• Submitted works should not have been previously published, or publicly performed. No arrangements of existing works will be considered.
• Composers may submit ONE WORK PER YEAR to the competition. Works can be submitted to ONE of the following three categories.

1. Open category – prize $2,000
2. Composers aged 25 years and under – prize $2,000
3. Waiata with substantial Te Reo Māori content (70%-100%) – prize $2,000

An additional prize valued at $1,000 will be awarded to a category winner in form of travel, per diems and other costs associated with the invitation to join one of the national choirs as Composer in Residence to progress the work for performance.

Category winners will become SOUNZ Composers. A SOUNZ composer has a profile page on www.sounz.org.nz  which lists their works, commissions, performances, films/audio, etc. and provides worldwide visibility.

• The competition is open to NZ citizens and NZ residents only.
• The competition will be judged by the national choirs’ music directors and one external judge. The decision of the judges is final and not contestable.
• Composers must have obtained copyright for any text used in the work. If the composer has written the text, please note this clearly on your submission (ie Text by composer).
• Copyright on the music is retained by the composer.
• The winners of the competition shall grant Choirs NZ the right to premiere the winning piece within 12 months of announcement of the winners, and record the piece (audio or video) within one year of that premiere performance. Choirs NZ will have the non-exclusive rights to perform the piece in perpetuity. All winning works should be marked with “One of the winning entries of the Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Compose Aotearoa! Competition 2025″ on the music score cover or in the concert programme, whenever possible.
• Previous category winners are not eligible to enter the same category the year after winning. Composer in Residence winners will not be considered for this role for a further three years.
• Works must be submitted as PDFs and MP3’s. The score should be laid out using conventional choral formatting and ready for duplication. Care should be taken with word underlay. Composers grant the choir permission to make further copies for performance at no additional fee.
• The composer’s name should NOT appear anywhere on the submitted score. An MP3 audio file of a computer realisation must also be submitted.
• Choirs NZ reserves the right to award no prizes in one or more categories if scores do not reach satisfactory standard.
• Choirs NZ reserves the right to change competition rules without notice.

For any enquiries please contact choirs@choirsnz.co.nz

We gratefully acknowledge the Patrons of  Compose Aotearoa! Trevor and Carol Kempton