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The New Music Miami ISCM Festival

Miami’s Contemporary Music Festival

January 14 – April 16

The New Music Miami ISCM Festival brings vibrancy and innovation to the community through concerts and transformative masterclasses and forums throughout South Florida! Just us this season as we celebrate 28 years of avant-garde compositions and performances in the heart of Miami! Our festival features exceptional works of trailblazing composers and boundary-pushing performers from all around the globe, many of whom are present to discuss their music for FIU students and audiences. Performances will take place at The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU on Wednesdays. Each evening begins with a captivating pre-concert discussion at 7PM, where audiences gain unique insights into these musical masterpieces. The festival discussions and concerts are free to the public thanks to the generosity of our sponsors.

Join Us for Our 2026 Season!

Celebrating 29 Years of New Music Miami

The XXIX New Music Miami ISCM Festival returns from January through April 2026, presenting an exciting lineup of internationally recognized composers and performers. Each season, the festival offers South Florida audiences an intimate opportunity to experience cutting-edge contemporary music and engage directly with today’s most innovative musical voices.
Concerts take place on Wednesdays at The Betsy South Beach Hotel Gallery or the FIU Miami Beach Urban Studios (MBUS) 4th floor Design Gallery. Each evening begins with a pre-concert discussion at 7:00 PM, followed by the performance at 7:30 PM.

All events are free and open to the public, made possible through the generosity of our sponsors.

The Betsy Hotel South Beach 1440 Ocean Drive (Gallery entrance on Collins Avenue)
Miami Beach Urban Studios 420 Lincoln Road 4th floor Design Gallery

Learn More

2026 XXIX New Music Miami ISCM Festival Schedule

Concert #1 – January 14

Opening Concert with the Amernet String Quartet and Guest Composer Daniel Asia – MBUS 4th floor Design Gallery https://www.amernetquartet.com/ and https://www.danielasia.net/  

Concert #2 – January 28

And Play Duo (violin and viola) performs an evening of cutting-edge new works – MBUS 4th floor Design Gallery https://andplayduo.com/  

Concert #3 – March 11 
Virtuoso and Grammy-nominated pianist Adam Tendler performs the music of Morton Feldman, celebrating the centennial of his birth – The Betsy South Beach Hotel Gallery http://adamtendler.com/ 

Concert #4 – March 25

North–South Concert with the NODUS Ensemble and Guest Composer Alex Burtzos – The Betsy South Beach Hotel Gallery https://www.facebook.com/nodusensemble/ and https://alexburtzosmusic.com/  

Concert #5 – April 1

Guest Composer Esteban Ignacio Correa Astudillo (Chile) performs with his duo – MBUS 4th floor Design Gallery https://www.facebook.com/correacompositor/?locale=es_LA  

Concert #6 – April 15

Closing Concert featuring Grammy-nominated violinist Curtis Stewart with the NODUS Ensemble – The Betsy South Beach Hotel Gallery https://www.facebook.com/nodusensemble/ and https://curtisjstewart.com/  

Thank You to Our Sponsors

With the support of the City of Miami Beach, the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University, FIU Miami Beach Urban Studios, and The Betsy South Beach Hotel and The Betsy Writers Room.
The Avalon Hotel Miami Beach on Ocean Drive is the official host hotel for the festival.

2026 ISCM World Music Days – Miami Chapter Call – Festival in Bucharest, Romania (May 23-31, 2026)

The Miami Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music  (ISCM) at Florida International University (FIU) is pleased to announce a call for scores for submission to the World Music Days Festival being held in Romania https://iscm.org/wnmd/2026-romania/  May 23-31, 2026. As an Associated Section of the ISCM and the presenters of the New Music Miami ISCM Festival we will be submitting up to six works to represent the USA at the festival, with one or more to be presented at the World Music Days (WMD). 

Although the ultimate programming choices are made by the festival, we are proud to be able to state that a number of works chosen by our panel and submitted to WMD have been selected for inclusion in several of these important international festivals.  In the past, music by Jeff Kaiser, Robert McClure, Sky Macklay, Jacob Gotlib, Mike Frengel, Per Bloland, Douglas Geers, Veronika Krausas, William Kleinsasser, Aaron Cassidy, Dorothy Chang, Ashely Rose Fure, Sam Pluta, John Kennedy, Ed Martin, Randy Bauer, Kory Reeder, Anuj Bhutani, and Lauren Sarah Hayes has been selected for presentation at these events by the host committee of the festival.
Please note that this call is for US composers only (i.e., citizens/permanent residents of the US).

The Union of Composers and Musicologists from Romania (UCMR) and ISCM Romania has constructed the Call for Works for the ISCM World New Music Days 2026. The festival includes some of Romania’s best musicians.

In the selection process, the jury will give preference to pieces that are up to 10 minutes long, as well as to works created in the last 10 years, with maximum priority being given to the works created in the last 5 years. The submissions can include already premiered, performed, and yet-to-be-premiered works; the submitted pieces can be published or unpublished.

By submitting works in response to the ISCM WNMD 2026 Call for Works, composers agree that if their work is selected for performance/ presentation, then they grant automatic permission for the performance, as well as for the recording, broadcasting, and streaming, the ISCM performance/presentation of their work without additional financial liability to the ISCM or the ISCM WNMD 2026 organizers.

Application Deadline

September 15 (before midnight EST) 

Application Fee: $12.62 for the submission of one work, and $18.37 for the submission of two works. 

The application procedure consists of the following steps: 

  1. Submitting online payment through Eventbrite 
    Select Get Tickets, and after payment, you will be provided an “order number.” This is necessary for the next step. 
  1. All materials must be submitted electronically and made available for download by supplying links to download files and/or stream audio files. Please make sure all links stay active through the end of December. Please enter the “order number” obtained through the above process at the bottom of the form.  This will provide proof of payment. 
    Then click here to complete the information form. 

Works for the following forces are requested (please note specific details): All submissions must come from within these categories. No addition of extra instruments to categories is allowed.  

Please be aware that ONLY pieces that exactly match one of the categories will be considered.  Composers are encouraged to submit as many pieces as they would like.

1. Symphony Orchestra (With or Without Soloist[s])

Possible Soloists: Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Piano, Cimbalom

  • The Romanian National Radio Orchestra
    (Max. 3.3.3.3. – 4.3.3.1. – 3 Perc. – Piano – Harp – 14.12.10.8.6)
  • The “George Enescu” Philharmonic Orchestra
    (Max. 3.3.3.3. – 4.3.3.1. – 3 Perc. – Piano – Harp – 14.12.10.8.6)

Doubling Possibilities: 1 Piccolo Flute, 1 Cor Anglais, 1 Bass Clarinet, 1 Contrabassoon

For this category, no electronic/fixed media is possible.

2. Chamber Orchestra

  • The Romanian Chamber Radio Orchestra
    (Max. 2.2.2.2. – 2.2.0.0. – Timpani (1 player) – Piano – 6.5.4.2.1)

For this category, no electronic/fixed media is possible.

3. String Orchestra (With or Without Stereo Fixed Media – “Tape Music”)

  • The “Concerto” Orchestra of the National University of Music in Bucharest
    (Max. 8.6.5.4.2)

4. Large Ensemble – 10–16 Musicians (With or Without Stereo Fixed Media – “Tape Music”)

  • Profil Sinfonietta
    (Max. 1.1.1.1. – 1.1.1.1. – Piano – Harp – 1 Perc – 2.1.1.1.)

5. Medium Ensemble – 6–8 Musicians (With or Without Stereo Fixed Media – “Tape Music”)

  • Ensemble Couleurs
    (Fl, Cl, 2 Vn, Vla, Cello, Pno, 1 Perc)

6. Small Ensemble (With or Without Stereo Fixed Media – “Tape Music”)

  • ATEM Ensemble – 5 Musicians (Fl, Cl, Vn, Cello, Pno)
  • LARSON Trio – 3 Musicians (Vn, Cello, Pno)

7. Small Percussion Ensemble

  • Ensemble PULSAR(T) – 2–4 Musicians

List of Instruments: 2 Bass Marimbas (C2–C7), 2 Vibraphones (F3–F6, tuning 442), 2 Concert Bass Drums, 2 Xylophones (F3–C7), 2 Glockenspiel (G3–C6), 1 Set of Chromatic Crotales, 1 Pair of Congas, 2 Pairs of Bongos, 2 Pair of Tom-Toms, Tam-Tam, Unpitched Gongs, Small Percussions

For this category, no electronic/fixed media is possible.

8. String Quartet (2 Vn, Vla, Cello)

  • Arcadia String Quartet
  • Gaudeamus String Quartet

For this category, no electronic/fixed media is possible.

9. Duo (With or Without Stereo Fixed Media – “Tape Music”)

  • 9.a. Viola and Clarinet
  • 9.b. Any Duo Combination between: Flute (Can Double Piccolo, Alto, Bass Flute), Clarinet (Can Double Bb Bass Clarinet), Violin, Cello, Piano

10. Solo Works (With or Without Live Electronics / Stereo Fixed Media – “Tape Music”)

From: Flute (Can Double Piccolo, Alto, Bass Flute), Clarinet (Can Double Bb Bass Clarinet), Violin, Cello, Piano

*Recommended DAWs: Reaper, Ableton Live or Max/MSP and an up-to-four-channel setup

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