Chroma Harp Composers is a youth composition scheme designed to encourage and celebrate new music for the harp. It is open to anyone under 19 years of age and the only requirement is the composition features harp! The music can be for anything from 1 to 100 harps and can be inspired by any style or genre from folk to classical to jazz and everything in between! Compositions are required to be between 1’30 and 10’00 minutes long and a written summary is necessary. This can vary in form from conventional Western music notation to graphic score or lead sheet. The music can be but does not necessarily need to be complex- we are looking for beauty, intrigue and exciting new sounds that showcase the harp.
Every year Chroma Harp will select a submission to work on through a number of workshops and will record a final video of the work. To apply all you need to do is send a written score of your composition and a paragraph up to 300 words describing the inspiration behind it along with your name and date of birth to chromaharpduo@gmail.com The deadline for submissions for the 2026 scheme is September 2025 and the winning commission will be released in 2026.
If you have any questions or would like us to check over an extract of your score before submission please do get in touch.
2025's Composer: Gloria Suen
We loved Gloria's piece Traffic in twilight, which is rich in beautifully created textures and rhythms! We'll be releasing our recording of her winning piece on the 3rd March.
Gloria says: I've had a keen interest in both composing and harp playing from a young age, though it took me until recent years to explore both. I enjoy the timbre of the harp very much, so it's wonderful to be able to sound my ideas with this instrument's voice. I am currently on a journey to completing another 4 movements of the set - all illustrations of the scenes of Hong Kong.