Essays

Dr. Franklin Churchley Graduate Essay Competition and Kenneth Bray Undergraduate Essay Competition

CALL FOR 2026 NATIONAL STUDENT ESSAY AND ARTS-BASED SUBMISSION COMPETITIONS

COMPETITION SUBMISSION DEADLINE – MAY 1, 2026

ELIGIBILITY: The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students studying at Canadian universities. Competitors may submit only one essay. 

TOPIC: The topic will be the student’s choice, but it must be relevant to contemporary or evolving music education practices and/or issues. 

STYLE: Submissions are accepted in either English or French. For standard essay submissions, entries should be typed, double-spaced. The essay competition call is open to alternative and arts-based submissions, including audio, visual, and other creative approaches to knowledge sharing. All submissions are expected to follow APA 7th guidelines for formatting, citations, and references where appropriate.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• 4000-word (or non-textual equivalent) limit, including abstract and references 
• 50–100-word (or non-textual equivalent) abstract summarizing content
• Address the following areas within the submission:
  1. Introduction to the topic, literature, and context of research as related to music education
  2. Offer contribution to and/or commentary on the field’s current issues, practices, or theories of research and practice
  3. Summary, conclusions, and implications of ideas for music education researchers and practitioners 

Note: Students, with guidance from their university supervisor, are expected to adhere to their respective university’s policies on academic integrity as it relates to the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT in the preparation of their essay submission. Students must apply current APA 7th edition guidelines to properly cite and reference all AI-tools and sources used. For example, see APA Style Blog – How to Cite ChatGPT (https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt)

REVIEW PROCESS: The competitions will be judged using an anonymous review process by nationally recognized scholars in the field of music education. To avoid conflicts, reviewers will be selected after the entries have been received. Reviewers will be announced with the winners. 

No identifying content within the submission is allowed with respect to either author or institution. There will be a field on the Google Form to include this information. Submissions must be the student’s own work but can have been previously submitted for coursework at their institution with feedback from faculty members.

AWARD INFORMATION: Winning essays or arts-based submissions may be published by the CMEA/ACEM in the Canadian Music Educator. Winners in each competition will receive a cash award:

Undergraduate Amount: $250

Graduate Amount: $250

SUBMIT ALL MATERIALS USING THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://forms.gle/zx19kdh1UcYtSrE26 

For questions and clarification, please contact:

Dr. Katie Tremblay

Chair, CMEA/ACEM National Student Essay Competitions

Board Member, Director of Higher Learning CMEA/ACEM 

Email: higherlearning@cmea.ca

Topic: 

Essays may be on any aspect of Canadian music in education.

Style:

Essays are accepted in either English or French. Essays must be typed, double spaced, and conform to standard APA 6^th edition style. Essay word limit: 5000 words. All charts, diagrams, and photos must be supplied camera-ready.

Eligibility:

This essay competition is open to practitioners in the field, college and university professors, researchers, composers and studio teachers, and students from all levels—K-12 and beyond. Submissions must not have been previously published. Entrants may submit only one essay.

Jury:  

Essays will be assessed by nationally recognized scholars in the field of music education who will be selected after the entries have been received to avoid conflicts. Jurors will be announced with the results of the competition.

Submissions:

Submissions must be submitted on or before December 31, 2025. Late submissions will not be accepted.  In order to facilitate a blind review process, contestants are required to include two components in one electronic submission (rich text format).

1. A separate cover sheet including the name of the author, institutional affiliation, permanent home address, and email address.
2. A file containing a 100-150 word abstract and the Essay.

No identifying content within the body of the text is allowed with respect to either author of institution. Winning essays may be published in The Canadian Music Educator. First prize winner will receive a cash award.

Send submissions electronically to:

Dr. Katie Tremblay, Assistant Professor
Faculty of Education, Cape Breton University
Sydney, Nova Scotia B1M 1A2
Email: higherlearning@cmea.ca

Dr. Jody Stark, University of Manitoba & Ms. Jennifer Arcand for their essay Exploring an Imagined Canadian Identity

Sandie Heckel of Western University for her essay titled Soundscapes: Using Informal Learning Pedagogy to Create a Canadian strand of Musical Futures.

Ms. Jennifer Skidmore, Master of Music Candidate at the University of Western Ontario for her essay titled, From Discord to Harmony: How Canadian Music Educators can support young Syrian refugees through Culturally Responsive Teaching.