A way to discover and champion recently-composed vocal music organized around 102 timeless themes.
The Syntopicon
Megan Ihnen's Vocal Music Syntopicon is a chapbook series that pairs recently composed vocal music with the 102 Great Ideas of the Great Books Syntopicon. Submissions are open now: any piece written for voice, connected to one of the 102 ideas, joins a standing pool for rolling review. Selected works are paired with collage and zine-style interstitial art in each chapbook edition.
Who Should Submit
Composers and music creators with contemporary vocal works that illuminate, complicate, or reimagine one of the Syntopicon’s enduring themes.
Any career stage — emerging to established composers and music creators
Written for voice, any vocal forces or ensemble size
Composed within the last 40 years
Connected to one of the 102 Great Ideas
Rights held or securable for performance and publication
Rolling review — no submission deadline
Selected works are paired with original collage art in each chapbook edition
Accepted work joins a standing pool for ongoing consideration
WHY THIS PROJECT EXISTS
A Curated Series of Music + Visual Art Chapbooks You Want in Your Studio
Hi! I'm Megan Ihnen (@mezzoihnen) and I started daydreaming about this Syntopicon project at the end of the 2010s. I found the original Syntopicon in a two-volume index and topical guide to the Great Books of the Western World which was created by Mortimer Adler and William Gorman. I wanted to fuse my love of championing 20th/21st century vocal music, my love of collage as an art medium, and my love of helping musicians discover works. This series is the result.
The chapbook idea gave me a way to curate collections of art songs and vocal music around each of the themes represented in the Syntopicon. Each accepted piece is paired with original collage and zine-style art, built during a residency at the Kolaj Institute and elsewhere, so the finished chapbook editions read as one continuous conversation between sound, image, and idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
Things you might want to know about submitting to The Syntopicon.
(Fuller fine print included at the bottom of this page.)
What kind of pieces are you looking for?
New vocal music composed within the last 40 years, connected thematically to one of the 102 Great Ideas from the Great Books series. Any vocal forces or ensemble size (although preference will be given to scores that are formatted in portrait-orientation and on 8.5x11" paper size), any career stage from emerging to established.
What rights do I need to hold?
You'll need to already hold (or secure the rights before submitting your work) the rights necessary for performance and publication, including rights to any text you've set. You'll confirm this with a short rights attestation when you submit.
Is there a submission deadline?
This is a rolling review. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis and join a standing pool for consideration.
What happens if my piece is selected?
Selected works are paired with original collage and zine-style art, created during Megan's Syntopicon work periods at the Kolaj Institute and other residencies, and published together in a chapbook editions.
What do I need to submit?
A link to your score (please confirm that your files are viewable by anyone with a link and set general access to anyone with the link), a recording (midi is fine!), basic details about the piece (title, duration, instrumentation, text source), and a short rights attestation confirming you're clear to share the work.
What are the 102 themes of the Syntopicon?
I'm so glad you asked! Here are the original themes listed in the Great Books Syntopicon: Angel, Animal, Aristocracy, Art, Astronomy, Beauty, Being, Cause, Chance, Change, Citizen, Constitution, Courage, Custom and Convention, Definition, Democracy, Desire, Dialectic, Duty, Education, Element, Emotion, Eternity, Evolution, Experience, Family, Fate, Form, God, Good and Evil, Government, Habit, Happiness, History, Honor, Hypothesis, Idea, Immortality, Induction, Infinity, Judgment, Justice, Knowledge, Labor, Language, Law, Liberty, Life and Death, Logic, Love, Man, Mathematics, Matter, Mechanics, Medicine, Memory and Imagination, Metaphysics, Mind, Monarchy, Nature, Necessity and Contingency, Oligarchy, One and Many, Opinion, Opposition, Philosophy, Physics, Pleasure and Pain, Poetry, Principle, Progress, Prophecy, Prudence, Punishment, Quality, Quantity, Reasoning, Relation, Religion, Revolution, Rhetoric, Same and Other, Science, Sense, Sign and Symbol, Sin, Slavery, Soul, Space, State, Temperance, Theology, Time, Truth, Tyranny and Despotism, Universal and Particular, Virtue and Vice, War and Peace, Wealth, Will, Wisdom, World.
Want to read a little bit more about rights?
Ready for the fine print?
Let's get to some of the nitty-gritty details...
This is a pilot project
The first pilot edition of The Syntopicon will be developed in November 2026. This pilot will demonstrate the project’s curatorial and publishing potential as funding and publishing partners are pursued.
The final production schedule, distribution model, and long-term publisher have not yet been determined. Submission or selection for the pilot does not guarantee inclusion in a later edition produced with a publisher or funding partner.
Purpose and participant benefit
The Syntopicon is designed to support the distribution and discovery of contemporary vocal music. Selected scores will be presented within a curated, theme-based chapbook intended to help performers, educators, presenters, researchers, and listeners encounter repertoire through the ideas it explores.
Participation is unpaid. The intended benefit to selected composers is the inclusion and distribution of their work within the print and digital chapbook, along with its placement in a broader curatorial context.
The project cannot guarantee a particular number of readers, downloads, sales, performances, professional opportunities, or other outcomes.
Compensation
There is currently no participation fee, honorarium, royalty, or other financial compensation available for composers whose works are included in the pilot.
The project lead intends to pursue funding and explore partnerships with publishers after the pilot has been developed. If a future publisher, funder, distributor, or producing partner proposes terms involving payment, royalties, licensing, sales, or additional uses, selected composers will receive those terms before the additional use is authorized.
No future compensation or publishing opportunity can be guaranteed.
Reproduction and distribution of selected scores
If a work is selected, the complete score will be reproduced in the chapbook as submitted by the composer and distributed in print and digital formats.
The project lead will not edit, re-engrave, abridge, annotate, rearrange, or otherwise alter the musical or textual content of a submitted score. Composers are responsible for submitting a publication-ready file containing the exact score they wish readers to receive.
By submitting a work and agreeing to participate if selected, the submitter grants The Syntopicon nonexclusive, royalty-free permission to reproduce and distribute the submitted score as part of the pilot chapbook in print and digital formats.
This permission applies to the inclusion and distribution of the score within the pilot edition. Any materially different use, separate publication, revised edition, commercial licensing arrangement, or future publisher agreement may require additional permission or a separate written agreement.
Copyright and ownership
Composers and other rights holders retain ownership of their work. Participation does not transfer copyright, publishing rights, performance rights, or ownership of the composition, score, text, recording, or supporting materials to The Syntopicon.
The permission granted for the pilot is nonexclusive. Unless another agreement restricts the work, the composer may continue to publish, distribute, license, sell, perform, and promote it elsewhere.
Exclusivity and existing agreements
Submitters must disclose whether the work, score, text, recording, or any other submitted material is subject to an exclusive publishing, distribution, licensing, commissioning, recording, embargo, first-publication, or similar agreement.
The submission form must identify:
the material covered by the restriction;
the publisher, organization, commissioner, or other party holding the exclusive right;
the nature of the restriction;
the territory or formats covered, if applicable; and
the date on which the exclusivity or restriction ends.
A work subject to an active restriction may be considered only if its inclusion and distribution through The Syntopicon are permitted by the existing agreement or separately authorized by the appropriate rights holder.
Submitters are responsible for reviewing their agreements and securing any necessary permission before authorizing inclusion. The project lead cannot interpret a composer’s contract, determine whether an exclusivity clause applies, or obtain a release on the composer’s behalf.
If an exclusivity agreement or other restriction prevents print or digital distribution of the complete score, the work cannot be included until the restriction has ended or written permission has been secured. a Paragraph Font
Rights and permissions
Submitters are responsible for confirming that they hold, or have secured, all rights necessary to submit the work and authorize reproduction and distribution of the complete score in print and digital formats.
This may include permissions involving:
poetry, prose, libretti, translations, or other source texts;
co-composers and collaborators;
publishers or licensing representatives;
commissioning organizations;
performers and recording owners;
photographers and visual artists; and
samples, adaptations, arrangements, or preexisting material incorporated into the work.
The project lead cannot research, verify, secure, or guarantee these rights on a submitter’s behalf.
If rights or exclusivity information is inaccurate, incomplete, or falsified, the work may be removed from consideration or from the project. A submitter who knowingly provides false information may be prohibited from submitting additional works to The Syntopicon.
What pilot participation may include
The pilot may include:
the complete score as submitted;
the title of the selected work;
the names of the composer, author, librettist, translator, or other credited creators;
information supplied through the submission form;
original curatorial writing about the work and its relationship to a Syntopicon theme;
composer-provided program notes or biographical material;
links to authorized recordings, websites, purchasing information, or additional materials; and
approved promotional images or media.
The project lead may edit submitted biographical, descriptive, or program-note material for length, clarity, grammar, and consistency. The score itself will not be edited or altered.
File preparation and accuracy
Composers must submit a complete, legible, publication-ready score in the required file format.
The submitted file should include all information the composer wants to appear in the distributed edition, including:
the correct title and subtitle;
composer and text-author credits;
copyright and publication notices;
instrumentation and vocal designation;
performance notes;
rights or publisher information; and
accurate page order and pagination.
The Syntopicon is not responsible for correcting notation, engraving, spelling, pagination, credits, rights notices, or other content within the score.
If a work is selected, the composer may be asked to confirm that the submitted file is the correct final version before the chapbook is produced.
Selection and editorial discretion
Submissions will be evaluated for artistic strength, thematic relevance, curatorial fit, and the needs of the pilot edition.
The Syntopicon is a curated project. Submission does not guarantee selection, publication, performance, review, feedback, or future consideration. A strong work may not be selected if it does not fit the theme, format, length, balance, or practical needs of a particular edition.
Composers will have an opportunity to review substantive factual information about their selected work before the pilot is finalized.
Future publication or partnership
If The Syntopicon moves forward with a publisher, funder, distributor, or producing partner, the scope and terms of participation may change.
Selected composers will be informed of proposed uses beyond the pilot permission described above. They will have an opportunity to review the applicable terms and decide whether to participate.
Selection for the pilot does not obligate a composer to accept a future publishing, licensing, performance, promotional, or commercial agreement. Participation in the pilot also does not guarantee that a future partner will include the work.a
Withdrawal and changes
A composer may withdraw a work from consideration before the pilot has been finalized by contacting the project lead in writing.
Once the chapbook has entered production or distribution, it may not be possible to remove a selected score from printed copies, downloaded files, archived materials, or copies already distributed. Reasonable efforts will be made to remove withdrawn material from future printings or versions when legally and practically possible.
Composers must notify the project lead promptly if the work’s rights status, exclusivity period, publisher, availability, title, crediting, score file, or other material information changes.
Acknowledgment
By submitting, you confirm that:
the information you provide is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge;
you are authorized to submit the work for consideration;
you have disclosed all applicable exclusivity agreements and restrictions;
you hold or have secured the rights necessary to authorize print and digital distribution of the complete score;
you understand that the November 2026 edition is a pilot;
you understand that participation is currently unpaid;
you retain ownership of your work;
if selected, you grant The Syntopicon nonexclusive, royalty-free permission to reproduce and distribute the score as submitted within the pilot chapbook;
selection does not guarantee a particular level of distribution, discovery, sales, performance, future publication, or compensation; and
uses beyond the stated scope of the pilot may require additional permission or a separate agreement.
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