Franco Carillon Composition Contest

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) invites composers to contribute to the carillon repertoire by entering the Franco Carillon Composition Contest. The goal of this contest is to grow the carillon repertoire with new works of high quality and innovative musical language.

Held every 2 years, the contest is named in honor of Johan Franco (1908–1988), an accomplished composer and key historical figure in the GCNA whose compositions for carillon numbered in the hundreds, many of exceptional quality. Since the first contest in 1988, the GCNA has awarded over US$21,000 for more than 40 compositions.

What we're looking for

What's a carillon?
It's a concert instrument made of bronze bells that are played with the hands and feet from a keyboard. We recommend composers newer to the carillon enter the Franco Proposal Contest.

Type: Entries must be an original composition for a solo performer. Please note that any composition that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not eligible for entry.

Length: Entries of any length are allowed. For reference, three- to seven-minute pieces are generally considered typical in the carillon repertoire unless they contain multiple movements.

Range: Entries must be playable on a 4-octave carillon (C–D–chromatic–C4; low C♯ omitted), with a 2-octave pedalboard (C–D–chromatic–C2). Notating outside of this range is permitted provided that substitutions are given in the 48-bell range. Contestants may wish to limit their pedalboard range to 1.5 octaves (C–D–chromatic–G1) as many carillons (particularly European standard) have that reduced range. Entries for 3-octave or 2-octave carillon are welcome (again with low C♯ omitted).

Prior history: Entries that have already been published, that have already been performed, or that have already won a prize are ineligible. Public performance of any winning composition prior to the 2027 GCNA Congress is grounds for disqualification.

Open to: Everyone, except members of the Franco Committee and the 1st and 2nd prize winners of the 2025 Franco Composition Contest. We recommend composers newer to the carillon enter the Franco Carillon Composition Proposal Contest.

Quantity: Only 1 entry is allowed.

Submission deadline: November 1, 2026.

No entry fee.

Prizes

One 1st prize and one 2nd prize will be awarded. Additional compositions earning special recognition from the jury may receive Performance Awards. All winners are entitled to have their entries premiered at the 2027 GCNA Congress and have them promoted on the GCNA website. The 1st and 2nd prizewinning pieces will be published by the GCNA; all other prizewinners have the option for publication (see Publication and copyright).

• 1st prize: US$2,000, world premiere at the 2027 GCNA congress, promotion and publication by the GCNA
• 2nd prize: US$1,000, world premiere at the 2027 GCNA congress, promotion and publication by the GCNA
• Performance award: US$150, world premiere at the 2027 GCNA congress, promotion and optional publication by the GCNA

How to enter

To enter the competition:

1. Anonymize your score by removing your name and any identifying information.
2. Declare your AI use, if any, according to the following 2 options. If option 2 applies to your entry, please complete all 4 parts of the declaration.
   • Option 1: No AI tools/technologies were used in the completion of this composition.
   • Option 2: I acknowledge the use of [insert name(s) of AI system(s) and link(s)] to [description of your usage of generative AI]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].
3. Email your contact information and AI declaration (in the body) as well as your anonymized score (in the attachments) to franco@gcna.org.

Questions? Email franco@gcna.org.

What to expect after you enter

The jury consists of the following members on the Franco Committee: Linda Dzuris, Deborah Hennig, Alex Johnson, Abby Pan, Scott Orr, Tiffany Ng, and Charles Zettek. They will evaluate entries based on their usefulness to the carillon community, namely their effectiveness on the carillon, playability, originality, and general musical interest.

To preserve anonymity, we ask that you not contact any members of the jury, directly or indirectly. Send your questions to the Franco Committee chair, Julie Zhu, at franco@gcna.org.

Results will be announced on March 1, 2027.

Publication and copyright

By entering the contest, you agree to the following requirements regarding publication and copyright:

• All contestants must warrant to the GCNA that their composition does not violate any existing copyright in whole or in part, and that they have the lawful right to authorize its publication.
• The 1st and 2nd prizewinners agree to grant full copyright and licensing rights to the GCNA. All other prizewinners will be given the option for publication.
• If the contestant has any arrangement with any performing rights organizations (e.g. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN), the composer must instruct the affiliated organization not to collect performance fees solely on the basis of this composition. In some cases, this may entail waiving rights to performance royalties.
• Compositions that do not win a prize will remain the sole property of the contestant. The jury's copies of the entries will be destroyed following the contest.

Past prizewinners

Purchase prizewinners published by the GCNA at our music store.