CMS Welcomes Stephanie Berg as 2025-2026 Guest Composer
The Community Music School (CMS) of Webster University will welcome local composer Stephanie Berg as guest composer for its 2025-2026 Young Composers Competition (YCC).
Since 2004, the YCC, sponsored by Arden and Harry Fisher at the Community Music School of Webster University, has recognized and encouraged the efforts of those between the ages of 12 and 21 who are involved in the creative process of composing music.
This program, unique to the St. Louis region, is an open competition, which has received submissions from St. Louis and throughout the world. Each year, the guest composer plays an integral role within the YCC, providing developing composers with invaluable one-on-one guidance in a constructive and supportive environment from an individual already well established in their professional and creative field.
The choice of guest composer is based upon recommendations from the YCC committee, past participants in the competition and a general keeping of “ears to the ground” for exciting new voices in the new music world. "Through the YCC, we strive to engage guest composers who are active in both the creation of exciting new work and the education and guidance of young minds,” said Justin Blackburn, coordinator of the YCC.
Entries for the 2025-2026 Young Composers Competition will be accepted starting on Aug. 18. Interested composers should visit the CMS Young Composers Competition page for more information. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 20, 2025, and winners are announced in early January.
About Guest Composer Stephanie Berg
"Composition, I find, is much like cooking: It’s all about proportion, balance and
the interplay of contrast and unity. But at the end of the day, no matter how complex
your ideas are, how innovative your dish is, it still has to taste good.” — Stephanie
Berg
Berg is an award-winning composer whose music has been performed by ensembles across the United States, including the St. Louis Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and the Arkansas Symphony, where she was named Composer of the Year. Her work has been featured at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, the International Double Reed Society Conference and on five commercial recordings. Praised as “vivid” and “unabashedly cinematic,” her compositions have reached audiences worldwide. A passionate advocate for young composers, Berg also teaches privately in St. Louis and has mentored students recognized at regional and state levels. For more information, read Stephanie Berg’s full biography.
About Community Music School of Webster University (CMS)
Founded in 1925, CMS offers outstanding music education and performance opportunities to students of all ages and abilities in the St. Louis metropolitan region.
The Community Music School of Webster University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and is a certified member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.