The Lullaby Project 2023: Open call for young composers

The innovative community program Lullaby Project was born in December 2011 in New York, by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, which brought together new mothers and pregnant women with musical artists, in order to write and sing lullabies to their babies, and continues until the present day. The songs that they create are presented at the Lullaby Project’s renowned concerts, performed by artists such as the famous mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, Fiona Apple, and Natalie Merchant.

As part of its effort to support the social integration of vulnerable groups through music, Carnegie Hall has partnered with El Sistema Greece, the educational music program for social integration that offers free musical education to children and young people, with the aim of creating a community centered on music, without restrictions and discrimination. In partnership with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the Lullaby Project has been implemented in Greece for 5 consecutive years.

In 2023, El Sistema Greece will implement  the Greek version of this special project for the 6th year, aiming to discover and present new stories of parental love and offer to the participants new ways to express their feelings for the little protagonists of their lives. 

Through this open call, El Sistema Greece is offering to one young composer the opportunity to be one of the artists who will live this creative experience and present their original musical compositions at the concert for the completion of the Lullaby Project 2023.

Composers interested in participating in this year’s project are kindly requested to send their application at [email protected] by Tuesday, November 30 including the following:

– CV (including date of birth)

– Motivation Letter (expressing their interest and reasons to apply)

– 2 (or more) samples of contrasting original compositions

These compositions should be delivered in both scores and audio forms, along with a short description of the pieces. Audio to be sent via WeTransfer or YouTube links.

Applications will be reviewed by the evaluation committee, consisting of:

Dimitris Maragopoulos, Composer, Artistic Director of the Bridges Program of the Megaron Athens Concert Hall.
Costa Pilavachi, Artistic Advisor on Music of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival.
Anis Barnat, Co-founder of El Sistema Greece and Managing Director of Community Arts Network.
José Ángel Salazar Marín, Artistic Director of El Sistema Greece,  director of the El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra and violinist.
Vaia Papagiannopoulou, Choir Master of El Sistema Greece, Choir Conductor and Music Professor.

Watch here the last year’s concert of the Lullaby Project held at the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

Find more information about the Lullaby Project here and  read what the composers said about their participation experience here.

Photo © Mariza Kapsabeli