JAS Launches 6th Annual “Share Your Voice” Songwriting Competition for Middle & High School Students
Introduces New Partnership with Music Therapy Retreats to Bring Group Songwriting Workshops to the Paul JAS Center
Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) is now accepting entries for their annual “Share Your Voice” songwriting competition. Open to Middle or High School students, JAS is seeking original songs from any music genre. Entries must be received by March 1, 2026 with winners being announced in early April. One High School and one Middle School winner will receive a cash prize of $500/each while up to four honorable mention winners will receive a cash prize of $100/each. All winners will have an opportunity to perform their song live in a special concert at the new Paul JAS Center, opening this December in downtown Aspen.
Below are the submission guidelines for the “Share Your Voice” song entry:
- Submissions shall include: an audio or video recording, a lyric sheet and student submission info to include: Name, Age, Grade, School, Email Address
- Students may submit a maximum of two songs each
- Plagiarism of copyrighted material is illegal. It is the responsibility of the songwriter to assure that music submitted is not copyrighted
- Submit submissions via a dropbox link to jazzaspensnowmass@jazzaspensnowmass.org
Entries will be judged based on their originality/creativity, music and lyrics. All entries will be judged by multiple professional musicians who will provide constructive feedback for every song.
Empowering Youth Through Songwriting Workshops
For students new to songwriting, JAS has partnered with Music Therapy Retreats, to offer group songwriting workshops. Led by award-winning singer-songwriter and board-certified music therapist Mack Bailey, these workshops are designed to support youth in expressing themselves authentically and confidently.
“Songwriting is a powerful tool for self-expression, emotional processing, and creative development,” said Bailey. “Middle and High School students face daily challenges that impact their self-confidence and identity formation. Providing a safe structured space to explore personal themes through songwriting fosters resilience, self-awareness, and community connection.”
Mack worked as a music therapist in the Aspen School District and Roaring Fork Valley for seven years. “Mack’s unique blend of professional musicianship, clinical expertise and compassionate leadership makes him an ideal facilitator for youth-centered creative workshops and we are thrilled to be able to partner with him on this new initiative,” said JAS COO Andrea Beard. “The songs created by the groups will be highlighted at the concert celebrating all of our winners.”
Participation in the group songwriting workshops is free, but space is limited, so interested students will need to sign-up in advance. To sign up please visit us here:
Workshops will take place at the Paul JAS Center. The Middle School workshop will be on Saturday, Jan. 31 from 3-5pm. The High School workshop will be on Sunday, February 1 from 3-5pm.
