National Alliance for Musical Theatre

National Alliance for Musical Theatre We ♥ Musicals

We’re thrilled to celebrate the extraordinary finalists of the 2026 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High Schoo...
06/26/2026

We’re thrilled to celebrate the extraordinary finalists of the 2026 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students.

Each of these student writers crafted original compositions that stood out for their voice, emotion, structure, and imagination.

🎶 Congratulations to all the 2026 finalists:

“A Home That Keeps Me You”
Music by Neil Awasthi & Lyrics by Sheila Awasthi

“Abstracted”
Music & Lyrics by Karsten Wallace

“Dictionary”
Music & Lyrics by Charlie Schaffer & Weylin Kane

“Fantasy”
Music & Lyrics by Pratheeksha Ganesh

“Girl In The Mirror”
Music & Lyrics by Naylah Campechano

“Little Did They Know”
Music & Lyrics by Eleanor Hibbard

“Manhattan”
Music & Lyrics by Mercie Taylor

“Memory of You”
Music & Lyrics by Jacob Fisch

“Never Have I”
Music & Lyrics by Judah Brown

“Out of Sight”
Music & Lyrics by Sadie Maguire

“The Big Top You Can’t Stop”
Music & Lyrics by Aiden Obando & Sage Mae Thompson

“The Me That They Don’t See”
Music & Lyrics by Jake Daniels

“The Seat Between Us”
Music & Lyrics by Zeke Moses

We can’t wait to see what you write next. 🩵

Meet (the other half of!) the 2026 Songwriting Challenge Honorable Mentions! We’re thrilled to celebrate these student s...
06/24/2026

Meet (the other half of!) the 2026 Songwriting Challenge Honorable Mentions!

We’re thrilled to celebrate these student songwriters whose work earned Honorable Mention in the 2026 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students.

Each of these songs captivated the Feedback Team with their originality, voice, and bold theatrical spirit. 🎶

👏 Congratulations to:

“Least Favorite Grandchild”
Music & Lyrics by Lincoln DePietro

“Lemur Tale Fever Dream”
Music & Lyrics by Emilia Ramos

“Mrs. Perfectionist”
Music & Lyrics by Zoë Belle Sullivan

“My New Home”
Music & Lyrics by Colin Albrecht

“My Sign”
Music & Lyrics by Annabel Barra

“Take the Stage”
Music & Lyrics by Dahelson Sleasman

“Thanks For It All”
Music & Lyrics by Charles Arrow

“The Letters”
Music & Lyrics by Onyeoma Abengowe

“Through the Telephone”
Music & Lyrics by Rebekah Redlich

“Turn Around”
Music & Lyrics by Afsheen Chowdhury

“What Do You See?”
Music & Lyrics by Jacob Victorino

“World Unbound”
Music & Lyrics by Martin Millar, Bridget Mitra & Henry Millar

Your creativity is something to celebrate; and a sign of so much more to come!

Meet (half of!) the 2026 Songwriting Challenge Honorable Mentions! We’re thrilled to celebrate these student songwriters...
06/24/2026

Meet (half of!) the 2026 Songwriting Challenge Honorable Mentions!

We’re thrilled to celebrate these student songwriters whose work earned Honorable Mention in the 202 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students.

Each of these songs captivated the Feedback Team with their originality, voice, and bold theatrical spirit. 🎶

👏 Congratulations to:

“A Song to Save the World”
Music & Lyrics by Olivia Ahn

“Alien Bestie”
Music & Lyrics by Gavi Miller & Rohan Pellathy

“Backpackademia”
Music & Lyrics by Asher Edgecliffe-Johnson

“Ethan Frome”
Music & Lyrics by Leela Kumar

“Every Tomorrow”
Music & Lyrics by Hasini Jasthi

“Fight”
Music & Lyrics by Weston Powell

“Fly Like a Dragon”
Music & Lyrics by Ella Richburg

“Follow Her Eyes”
Music & Lyrics by Johann Uhl

“Heroes of a Small Town”
Music & Lyrics by Millie Rose

“I Wanna Know”
Music by Owen Light & Lyrics by Jayelle Armada

“In Another Sky”
Music by Jake Daniels & Lyrics by Abby Peña

“Late for School!”
Music & Lyrics by Claire Atwell

Your creativity is something to celebrate; and a sign of so much more to come!

06/11/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner Rett Bush and hear a sneak peak of his winning song!

In a not so distant future overtaken by endless winter, a sentient robot faces an impossible choice: save himself and abandon humanity’s last survivors, or sacrifice everything in the frozen wasteland of Winter’s Edge. Set against a heavy metal score, the song explores survival, loyalty, and what it means to be human.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting.

06/10/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner Liam Liang and hear a sneak peak of his winning song!

Beneath her confident exterior, Gaby struggles privately with heartbreak, confusion,
and isolation. As the song traces her emotional unraveling from infatuation to disappearance, the repeated refrain “Oh no, Gaby” takes on new meaning with each passing verse.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting.

06/09/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner Merrisa Moore and hear a sneak peak of her winning song!

From the imagined musical Set Apart, “Find Me” is sung from the perspective of Samaria, a woman caught between life and death as she searches for her grieving husband in the afterlife. Blending romance, loss, and supernatural imagery, the song explores devotion in the face of unimaginable separation.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting.

06/04/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner Izzy Burris and hear a sneak peak of her winning song!

Two young people deeply in love clash over fear, vulnerability, and the possibility of a future together. As frustration and longing collide, the song captures the tension between hesitation and urgency, ending with neither side willing to give in.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting.

06/04/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner Cameron Steele and hear a sneak peak of his winning song!

After winning a national track championship, high school athlete Lucas finds himself
alienated from his closest friend and competitor. As Lucas struggles with guilt, anger, and the pressure to succeed, the song becomes a powerful reckoning with ambition and self worth.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting.

06/02/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner Isaac Goodman and hear a sneak peak of his winning song!

Frank Thurman, a once-promising musical theater songwriter now disillusioned by the industry, finds his quiet Brooklyn apartment disrupted by a young composer who moves in down the hall. As the music grows louder, Frank’s irritation reveals something deeper: a painful confrontation with the dreams he left behind.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting.

05/28/2026

Meet 2026 Songwriting Challenge Winner James Pumphrey and hear a sneak peak of his winning song!

Jim, a struggling young actor newly arrived in New York City, chases the dream of breaking into the theater industry while grappling with rejection and the fear of falling behind. Set against the backdrop of audition rooms and downtown apartments, the song captures the restless anxiety of early artistic adulthood.

Join us in NYC on June 15th, 2026 to hear this and all the winning songs - fully orchestrated and performed by Broadway talent! It’s truly a night you don’t want to miss.

Can’t be there in person? Check out the livestream of the concert at namt.org/challenge or arts.gov/songwriting

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