The MusiCounts Fellowship for Emerging Songwriters & Composers is a national application-based program designed to elevate Canada’s next generation of music creators while generating new Canadian repertoire for use in classrooms across the country.

Each year, the 10 selected Fellows will:

• Receive a $7,500 funding package
• Participate in a structured creative collaboration
• Gain national exposure through MusiCounts initiatives
• Receive creative and career guidance from the Fellowship’s mentors: Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee and JUNO Award-winning artist Nemahsis, and acclaimed composer of educational repertoire Cait Nishimura

At the core of the program is the creation of new, contemporary Canadian music for classrooms to be made freely available to educators nationwide. These works will be performed by students across the country through the CBC Canadian Music Class Challenge, powered by MusiCounts in early 2027.

For more details on the Fellowship components, please see the Program Guidelines.

Applications are open, and accepted until May 22, 2026.

• If you are interested in applying to this program, please begin by completing this Intake Form.
• Within two business days of the submission of your Intake Form, a member of the MusiCounts team will reach out with instructions on how to get started with the formal application via the MusiCounts Application Portal.

For more details on the application process, please see the Program Guidelines.

This program is intended for early career songwriters and composers. For the purposes of this Fellowship, “early career” refers to songwriters and composers who are in the development stage of their professional practice. Ideal candidates will be active in their field with evidence of professional momentum, and strong potential for further development. Strong candidates for this program will be recognized by peers and some industry stakeholders, but still have not been able to achieve their full potential or break on a national stage. The funding, mentorship, collaboration and exposure opportunities afforded through this program should tangibly advance each Fellow’s creative career.

The Fellowship is designed to transform original Canadian songs into high-quality, open-access, classroom-ready repertoire that can be performed by music students across the country, all while offering emerging songwriters and composers a unique career development opportunity.

Here’s how it works:

1) Fellows are selected and paired

Each Songwriter Fellow is paired with a Composer Fellow.

2) Songs are determined

Songwriters provide an original, already-released song to serve as the source material.

3) Arrangements are created

Composers lead the development of educational arrangements of the selected song. The composer will work in close collaboration with the songwriter to determine the stylistic direction for this new musical interpretation, ensuring alignment with the songwriter's creative vision. In this process both Fellows will work under the guidance of Cait Nishimura, the program’s Composition Mentor, who will help ensure the works generated through this program are appropriate for educational use.

The musical interpretations of the source material will be created specifically for educational ensembles such as band, choir, strings, and Orff. Each songwriter-composer pairing will yield at least two distinct scores, to support a range of skill levels.

4) Scores are published

Complete scores & parts are published and permanently housed as free, open-access resources on the MusiCounts website. Approximately 12 new scores will be generated through this program each year.

5) Music is performed nationwide

These new works become the centerpiece of the winter cycle of the CBC Canadian Music Class Challenge, Powered by MusiCounts. Starting in early 2027, teachers across Canada will be invited to record and submit student performances of these new works for a chance to receive thousands in MusiCounts prize funding for their music programs.

In addition to the new repertoire generated by the Fellows, Cait Nishimura will also work with Nemahsis, the program’s Songwriting Mentor, and arrange one of Nemahsis’ songs for an educational ensemble. These scores will also be free to download via the MusiCounts website and also featured as part of the CBC Music Class Challenge in winter 2027.

Participation in this program will provide Fellows with direct access to two leading voices in Canadian music. Songwriter Fellows will work with Nemahsis through a series of one-on-one and small group sessions focused on artistic development, creative process, and career growth. Composer Fellows will work closely with Cait Nishimura, receiving feedback on their arrangements, participating in group sessions and masterclasses, and developing their skills in writing for educational ensembles. All mentorship will be facilitated virtually.

April 16: Applications Open

May 22: Application Deadline

Early July: Announcement of Fellowship Cohort

July-October: Mentorship & Score Development

November 9: Final Scores Due

Mid December: Scores Published

Early January: CBC Music Class Challenge launch

If you have any questions about the program or the application process, please email applications@musicounts.ca