Marion Brown Prize - Submissions Closed Until Fall 2024

Bowdoin College’s Marion Brown Prize supports an annual residency for emerging composers from historically underrepresented communities. It is named in honor of composer, improviser, saxophonist/clarinetist, visual artist, and writer, Marion Brown (1931 - 2010), a Bowdoin Assistant Professor of Music from 1971 to 1974 and Bowdoin graduate.

The residency aims to provide opportunities for composers to have existing works performed by a variety of student ensembles, for the performance of a historical work that is newly edited or arranged in a performance edition, and for the commission and premiere of new works for the College’s musical groups.

Marion Brown at Gibson Hall

The winner of the 2023 Marion Brown prize, and its first-ever recipient is Devon Gates, who submitted works for choir, chamber ensemble and jazz ensemble. The College's ensembles will be performing her works in spring of 2024, and she will be an artist-in-residence working with those ensembles.

Because of their exceptional compositions, the judges decided to award an unplanned joint second prize to two other composers: Helder Alves de Oliveira and Nico Gutierrez.

The format for the 2024 Marion Brown prize will be announced soon. We expect it will be a commission of a piece for large wind ensemble.

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