The Koussevitzky Music Foundation has commissioned six new works for 2026, the Library of Congress announced, extending a program that pairs composers with performing organizations.
The selected composers are Utku Asuroglu, Pascale Criton, Malika Kishino, Reinaldo Moya, Peter S. Shin and Errollyn Wallen. Each project has a co-sponsoring ensemble or presenter that is expected to bring the new work into performance.
The commission is not a single stylistic prize. The roster spans composers with different musical languages, national backgrounds and intended forces, giving the awards the practical function of placing several new scores into distinct performance networks.
Kishino and Wallen also received grants from the foundation's Vladimir and Blanche Luening Estate program. Criton received the Andrew W. Imbrie Memorial Commission, according to the Library's announcement.
Those additional designations should not be added to the six as separate commissioned composers. They are awards attached to projects within the same announced group.
The foundation was created through gifts from Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky and is administered at the Library of Congress. It says the program has commissioned 496 works since its establishment.
A commission guarantees support for creating a work, not an identical premiere schedule for every project. Completion, rehearsal and performance dates depend on the composers and co-sponsoring organizations.
For contemporary music, that partnership matters because a score's path to an audience usually requires rehearsal time, performers and a presenting institution in addition to the composer's work.
The foundation lists Jan. 15, 2027, as the next application deadline. The lasting measure of the 2026 awards will be the completed scores, their first performances and whether ensembles continue to program them.