In addition to receiving a $5,000 cash prize, a commission for quartet, a professional performance, and a live recording, the four winning composers will receive one-on-one mentorship with established figures in the field. The commissions will be performed and recorded by Trinity Choir and the National Sawdust Ensemble, with music direction by cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, at National Sawdust on December 10, 2026.

Past mentors have included Pulitzer winning composer Du Yun, composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón, composer and electronic artist Gavilán Rayna Russom, composer, sound artist and Associate Professor at Columbia Miya Masaoka, composer, pianist, and pioneer in electronic and art music Lena Platanos, cellist and former Kronos Quartet member Jeffrey Zeigler, composer, vocalist sound artists and Music Faculty at NYU Joan La Barbara, Pulitzer winning composer Tania León.

National Sawdust Ensemble (NSE), led by cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, is the in-house band of National Sawdust. Made up of highly acclaimed artists who are or have been members of the Da Capo Chamber Players, New York New Music Ensemble, the Internationally Contemporary Ensemble, Imani Winds, Flutronix, and the Kronos Quartet, this instrumentally flexible group is an integral part of National Sawdust Mentorship Initiatives, playing, teaching and collaborating with emerging and professional composers from the Blueprint Bridge Fellowship with The Juilliard School, as well as the internationally renowned Hildegard Commission Concert for composers who are women and other marginalized genders. The mission of the ensemble is to give composers and artists access to the high caliber of musicianship that is native to National Sawdust. The NSE has also supported projects such as Liederabend, Senses with Beth Morrison Projects.

With its peerless interpretation of both early and new music, Trinity Choir has redefined the realm of 21st-century vocal music, breaking new ground with artistry hailed as “blazing with vigour . . . a choir from heaven” (The Times, London). This premier professional ensemble — heard live, online, and in services, recordings, and performances — has also been described as “thrilling” (The New Yorker), “musically top-notch” (The Wall Street Journal), and “simply superb” (The New York Times). Trinity Choir leads liturgical music at Trinity Church on Sundays and at additional services throughout the year, all of which are livestreamed for a global audience. A typical season includes performing in the Bach at One series, Compline by Candlelight, and a variety of concerts and festivals, often in collaboration with NOVUS, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and TrinityYouth Chorus. The choir anchors Trinity’s critically acclaimed performances of Handel’s Messiah, which The New York Times referred to as “the best Messiah in New York” and “the gold standard.” The choir was recently featured in several world-premiere oratorios and operas: Paola Prestini’s Silent Light at National Sawdust; Luna Pearl Woolf’s Number Our Days at the Perelman Performing Arts Center; and Benedict Sheehan’s Akathist, which was recorded alongside NOVUS, Downtown Voices, Artefact Ensemble, and Trinity Youth Chorus, and nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance.