Calvin Young Composers Initiative
Creative Collaboration in Music & Faith
Calvin Composition Grant from CAC 2026–2027
Inspired by the Creative Arts Collective theme “Finding Freedom in the Wilderness,” this yearlong initiative connects Calvin University faculty, student composers, professional artists, and regional K–12 musicians in a shared journey of creativity, faith, and renewal.
Program Highlights
Workshops, mentorship, composition coaching, guest composer visits, premiere performances, and collaborative projects for soloists, small ensembles, bands, orchestras, choirs, songwriters, and electronic musicians.
Teacher Application Student Application
Participation Options
- Option 1: Solo/Small Ensemble Showcase at Calvin + Large Ensemble Showcase Concert at Calvin
- Option 2: Solo/Small Ensemble Showcase at Calvin + Large Ensemble Showcase at your own school concert performance with composer support and recorded submission
- Option 3: Solo & Small Ensemble at Calvin (no ensemble showcase)
- Option 4: Flexible option for homeschool, community groups, youth ensembles, songwriters, and non-traditional programs; Solo & Small Ensemble at Calvin; composer visits to classes.
All approved teachers receive composer mentorship, composition resources/books, and support for student creative work. Most participation levels include approximately four composer visits during the year.
Schedule
**Details subject to change
Teacher and Composer Welcome Dinner Meeting
Saturday, September 19, 2026 | 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Welcome Dinner is open to all teachers and composers involved in the project—strongly preferred in person! Proposed date: Sept. 19, 2026, Welcome and Introduction for the CAC Grant (6-8pm)
Annual Composition Workshop
Saturday, February 6, 2027 | 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Students may bring ideas, drafts, or completed compositions. Professional string, woodwind, brass, piano, and house-band musicians will read and workshop student compositions.
Solo and Small Ensemble Showcase Concert
Saturday, April 17, 2027 | Calvin University Recital Hall
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Rehearsal, soundcheck, and coaching from composers.
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:00 PM - Concert
Large Ensemble Showcase Concert (band, choir, orchestra)
Saturday, April 17, 2027 | Calvin University Recital Hall
4:00 PM to 6:00 PM - Rehearsal, soundcheck, and coaching from composers.
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM - Dinner
7:30 PM - Concert, including a mass combined ensemble piece composed by Bill Connor based on ideas from all the participating students.
Contact & Leadership
Grant Directors: Dr. Xander Koops and Dr. Forrest Wakeman
Calvin University Music Department; Grant funding from CAC (Creative Arts Collective)
Granting Organization: Creative Arts Collective, Belmont University
Calvin University received a one-year grant from CAC to support the launch of the Calvin Young Composers Initiative. This initiative aims to provide music educators and K-12 students in Western Michigan with support for composing and creativity in public and private school settings, as well as in other community organizations.
The grant “Songs from the Wilderness” advances CAC’s aspirational aim to inspire people from diverse contexts to discover and live the beauty and wisdom of the Christian story. Rooted in Calvin’s Reformed tradition yet open to the breadth of Christian expression, this project invites participants to encounter God’s creative presence through music that mirrors creation itself—beautiful, diverse, and free.
Drawing on passages such as Isaiah 55:12 (“the mountains and hills will burst into song before you”) and 1 Kings 19:11–13 (where the Lord’s presence comes as a gentle whisper), the project encourages both young and experienced composers to listen deeply—to sound, to silence, and to the Spirit’s movement. By partnering university faculty and students with area teachers and students, the project nurtures a generative network of Christian artists and educators who embody CAC’s vision of collaboration, diversity, and imaginative renewal through the arts.
This grant will bring together a vibrant music education community that believes in the transformative power of the arts to connect us with God’s profound narrative, uplift spirits, and unite hearts in a shared journey of discovery.