Our Mission

We strive to give young composers the complete experience of writing a piece and collaborating with other composers and performers throughout the process. This is especially for those young composers who have not had this opportunity in the past.

For many emerging composers, the opportunity to write a piece and have it performed or recorded is very difficult to come by. Many young composers may very well not have this opportunity until they are in college or beyond, and by this time, they may have even given up on a career in composition. Those of us that have been fortunate enough to have this experience know how incredibly valuable and fulfilling it can be. This is why we at The NowBeat Project seek to make this opportunity available for more young composers who would not have had this experience otherwise.

By Young Composers, For Young Composers

Many programs for young composers that you can find are run and directed by esteemed, critically acclaimed composers and/or faculty members and major universities or conservatories. While this is certainly useful in some situations, The NowBeat Project is governed by a different philosophy. Our Composer-Mentors are talented, motivated college students who all share a desire to give back to the emerging new music community. This makes it much more natural for Composer-Mentors to relate to participants on a personal level and give meaningful and useful advice. Our Performers are also college-age and are extremely excited to bring new music by young composers to life.

Removing the Obstacles

Especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we know how difficult it can be to find and take advantage of opportunities, especially for young composers. This is why we have made efforts to remove the obstacles that could prevent some people from participating in this program. First of all, there is no cost whatsoever to any part of this project. Secondly, participants do not have to be extremely experienced or knowledgable to take part. Finally, young composers only need a couple things to participate from anywhere in the world: access to Zoom and a way to notate their music (staff paper & pencil or notation software).