Open call for composers 2027

Open call for composers · Portraits and Remembrance 2027

Open call for composers 2027

Dedicated to Diana Budisavljević and the Righteous Among the Nations

Deadline 5 October 2026 · Results 6 November 2026

Applications closed on 5 October 2026. Results are announced on 6 November 2026.

Open call for composers 2027

Deadline

5 October 2026

Results

6 November 2026

Premiere

27 January 2027 – Portraits and Remembrance

Ensemble

women’s choir – Academic Choir Collegium musicum

Length

up to 6 min

Selected

up to 7 composers

The theme

The international festival Rossi Fest announces a call for new compositions inspired by the themes of humanity, remembrance and moral courage, with a special focus on the life and work of Diana Budisavljević.

This year’s theme is dedicated to the Righteous Among the Nations – individuals who, in times of greatest suffering, preserved their humanity, risking their own lives to save others.

At the centre of the call is Diana Budisavljević, a woman whose name has become a symbol of light in a time of darkness, and whose rescue of thousands of children during World War II remains a lasting part of our historical and cultural memory.

The selected works will be performed by a renowned ensemble of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, the Academic Choir Collegium musicum, under the artistic direction of Dr Dragana Jovanović.

Suggested text

As a poetic starting point for the call, the verses of the poem Ime po ime (“Name by Name”) by Tatjana Ivković are proposed (original Serbian text):

Ime po ime – Tatjana Ivković

Ime po ime,
iz mraka je vraćala svetlost.

Svako slovo — jedno dete.
Svako ime — jedan život.

Dok su drugi brisali tragove,
ona je čuvala dah.

List po list,
kao molitvu nad tišinom,

da se neko
jednom vrati
svome imenu.

Composers may use the text in full or in part, as inspiration or as the basis for a vocal or vocal-stage work, and may also propose their own text, provided it remains within the given theme.

Conditions

  • Ensemble women’s choir — Academic Choir Collegium musicum, with the option of adding a narrator and vocal soloists
  • Allowed sound, stage and electroacoustic effects
  • Length up to 6 minutes
  • Character a contemporary vocal or vocal-stage work that may include elements of speech, whisper, spatial arrangement of the choir, movement, lighting, electronics and other interdisciplinary approaches

Selected composers get

Based on the applications received, the Festival’s Artistic Committee will select works by up to 7 composers, who will be provided with:

  • active participation in musical and staging rehearsals with the ensemble
  • performance of the composition at the concert “Portraits and Remembrance”
  • premiere on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2027
  • media support and promotion
  • a professional recording of the performance
  • accommodation for participants from outside Belgrade
  • a certificate of participation in the festival
  • a cash prize, to be announced once the final budget is adopted

How to apply

Applications are closed (deadline: 5 October 2026).

  • Score in PDF format
  • Demo recording of the composition (preferred)
  • Short biography of the composer
  • Programme note up to 1,000 characters

For more information: [email protected]