2026 Competition
Join us for the 13th Annual Great Plains International Marimba Competition,
July 8 - 11, 2026!
2026 Composition Competition
The 2026 Great Plains International Marimba Competition Composition Competitions are for the following categories:
Solo Marimba (to be performed by Collegiate/Open finalists)
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Submissions are due May 1st by 11:59 CST
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No fee to enter, and no age limit
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Submissions must be between 2 and 6 minutes in length
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All submissions must be anonymous - no identifying information on the score or embedded within the mp3 file.
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All marimba parts must fit on a standard 5.0-octave marimba.
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The winner will receive video and audio from the finalist performances
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To enter, composers must submit both a score (PDF) and audio file (MP3) to the greatplainsmarimba@gmail.com with the heading "2026 Composition Competition Entry - Marimba Solo"
2026 Marimba Competition
Timeline
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March 31, 2026 (11:59pm CST) - Early Bird Registration closes
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April 16, 2026 (11:59 pm CST) - Audio Round recordings due
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July 9-10, 2026 - Semi-final Round (live in OKC)
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July 11, 2026 - Final Round (live in OKC)
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Audio Round Judges
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Matthew Coley - HS Solo
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Gwendolyn Dease - Collegiate/Open Solo
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Judges
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Live Round Judges
About the Competition
The Great Plains International Marimba Competition was founded by Dane Romano in 2013 to provide an avenue for musical growth of young marimbists around the world through educational and competitive experiences. This competition seeks to contribute to the quality and evolution of marimba performance through fostering high-level marimba performances, presentations and individual feedback by world-class marimbists, and an annual composition competition. In 2019, the competition was placed under the care of Oklahoma Modern Music Collective, allowing our team to continue to build on the excellent work done by GPIMC founder Dane Romano.
Prizes and Results
All finalists will receive a basket of materials provided by competition sponsors. In addition, first place winners of each category will win a cash prize.
Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors!
