2027 Wildflower Lab:
ReRoot with the Relâche Ensemble
Wildflower Composers is thrilled to continue their partnership with the Relǎche Ensemble for this season’s Wildflower Lab! Several Philadelphia-area composers will be selected to work with the ensemble on a sketch, draft, or completed work, and each composer will receive a professional recording of their workshopped piece. There is no cost to apply or participate. Scroll for more information on the Wildflower Lab, and click the button below to apply now.
“These past two weekends were so helpful, I had such a great experience. Thank you for letting me be a part of this workshop! Everyone was so nice, the energy was so positive. I left feeling upbuilt by the feedback I received, and I'm much more confident in my piece now! I will cherish this recording and this experience!!”
Ava Bloomfield, Lab ‘25
Application deadline: November 23, 2026
Wildflower Lab is a space to…
collaborate with musicians
improvise
try new things
clarify compositional ideas
form connections with local peers and mentors
amplify the work of those in and around Philadelphia
What is the Wildflower Lab?
The Wildflower Lab is a true workshopping space for works-in-progress, sketches, ideas, and/or completed drafts of compositions. We partner with professional musicians and ensembles to provide local Philadelphian composers with two workshops to hear their music and receive feedback from musicians. The second workshop will be professionally recorded.
The 2027 Wildflower Lab: ReRoot with the Relâche Ensemble will take place on January 31 and February 14 at Temple University. Several Philadelphia-area composers will be selected to participate.
This is a free opportunity. There is no cost to apply or participate. Selected composers are responsible for their own travel.
Am I eligible?
Applicants to the 2027 Wildflower Lab: ReRoot with the Relâche Ensemble must meet the following requirements:
Reside within a 30-mile radius of Philadelphia
18 years or older by January 30, 2027
Would like to compose a new work for the Relâche instrumentation (below) or have a sketch, work-in-progress, or completed work for the Relâche instrumentation (below)
Available January 31 and February 14, 2027 for in-person workshops in Philadelphia at Temple University
Identify as part of the female, transgender, nonbinary, and/or genderqueer population
We invite submissions or proposals that use at least three of the following instruments, with works for the full ensemble encouraged:
Flute or piccolo
Oboe or english horn
Clarinet or saxophone
Bassoon
Viola
Double bass
Piano (without preparation)
Percussion (vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, suspended and crash cymbals, snare drum, small/handheld percussion [e.g. triangle, wood blocks, tambourine, etc.])
Please keep in mind that each bullet point above represents a single person; therefore, your piece could not include flute and piccolo played concurrently.
The Wildflower Lab is intended for early-career composers who are actively seeking feedback and advice on a recent piece, work-in-progress, or compositional idea. We are actively seeking applications from composers who do not have regular access to performer feedback, and who are female, transgender, nonbinary, and/or genderqueer in the early stages of their professional careers (defined as having not received a commission of more than $5,000). Although there is no maximum age to participate, we expect that the majority of participants will be between the ages of 18 and 35.
Score submissions—works-in-progress, sketches, and/or completed pieces—must be clearly notated and copy-edited (see example works here). We ask that you submit a maximum of 10 minutes of music. If you would like to submit a longer piece, please specify an excerpt that you would like to focus on for this session.
About the Relâche Ensemble
Recognized for its world-class performances of works by leading contemporary composers, Relâche is an international leader in commissioning, presenting and performing the innovative music of our time. Founded as a composer's collective in 1977 and officially founded as an ensemble in 1979, Relâche is among the oldest continuously operating nonprofit chamber ensembles dedicated to contemporary music in the United States.
Relâche continues to invest in the future of new music through its commitment to the work of young and emerging composers. To date, Relâche has performed more than 550 concerts in and around its home city of Philadelphia as well as across the country and the globe, including residencies, festival and touring appearances in South America, Japan and Eastern and Western Europe. Relâche is one of the most stylistically flexible groups on the East Coast, and is equally at home playing everything from folk to jazz, and from rock to contemporary classical.
Learn more at www.relache.org.