Performance Opportunity at the National Conference
Songfest by Leonard Bernstein
What?
Leonard Bernstein’s Songfest, commissioned for America’s Bicentennial, is a 12-movement work for six singers and orchestra. It presents a kaleidoscope of American poetry — from the early Puritan voice of Anne Bradstreet to contemporary writers like June Jordan and Lawrence Ferlinghetti — exploring themes of love, loss, identity, and artistic truth. Bernstein’s music mirrors these tensions: celebratory yet questioning, personal yet collective.
Who?
We invite submissions from singers and pianists to perform a selection from Songfest during the closing plenary session on July 6, 2026. Different performers will be featured for each movement, with up to 42 singers participating. Opportunities include:
- Solos for soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and bass
- Two sextets
- Two duets
- Trio
How?
Interested performers should submit:
- Completed application (indicating which movement/piece you are interested in performing.)
- Link to a recent recording
- Headshot
Preference for the duets, trio, and sextets will go to ensembles that submit as a unit, and that can rehearse before the conference. Rehearsal time at the conference will be limited to one run-through. The ensembles should submit one application, and the links can be to a previous ensemble performance, or links to each individual singer’s performance.
Application Deadline:
- The deadline for submissions is Monday, January 5, 2026.
- Acceptance will be announced no later than Monday, February 2, 2026.
Additional Information:
- Current NATS members are invited to submit.
- You do not need to be an American citizen to apply to perform.
- There is no compensation for performances.
- A collaborative pianist will be provided in San Antonio, but you may perform with a pianist of your choosing that comes to the conference with you.
