Calling all high school songwriters! The National Endowment for the Arts and the American Theatre Wing are accepting submissions to the 2021 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. This national contest is for high school students with a passion for writing songs that could be part of a musical theater production and the wide range of musical styles represented in contemporary musicals. The goal of the program is to engage professionals in the musical theater field in nurturing the next generation of songwriters.
New this year, iHeartRadio Broadway joins the program as a partner and will provide promotional support of the final recorded songs including the songs’ public debut in a special matinee radio and online broadcast. iHeartRadio Broadway is among Songwriting Challenge’s returning partners that are Disney Theatrical Productions, Concord Theatricals, and the National Music Publishers’ Association.
The Songwriting Challenge provides selected student winners (an individual or duo) with their own coaching team consisting of a mentor and music director (both musical theater professionals) to hone an original song into a Broadway-ready composition and then have that song recorded by Broadway musicians and vocalists in New York City. The final songs are combined into an album, are featured in an iHeartRadio Broadway matinee, distributed on streaming music platforms, and compiled into a songbook created by Concord Theatricals.
The application is simple and can be completed online. The deadline is May 17, 2021 at midnight ET.
Click here for more details on the 2021 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge!