Paul A. Pisk Prize Call for Nominations Funding and Honors NEW

The Paul A. Pisk Prize is awarded annually to two graduate music students for scholarly papers presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society. Any paper presentation by a graduate student that is accepted for inclusion in the AMS Annual Meeting is eligible for the Pisk Prize. The Pisk Prize Committee evaluates the submissions as papers read at the annual meeting rather than as articles to be published. Notes, bibliography, and any other scholarly apparatus, though not forbidden, will not be a prime consideration of the evaluation. For this reason, principal intellectual debts should be acknowledged in the body of the paper.

This prize is named for the Austrian-born composer and musicologist, Paul Amadeus Pisk (1893-1990). Pisk earned his doctorate in musicology from Vienna University in 1916 and taught musicology in Austria until emigrating to the United States in 1936. After emigrating, Pisk taught at the University of Redlands, the University of Texas at Austin, and Washington University in St. Louis. An expert on music theory and composition, he composed a wide range of musical works, including operatic works, ballets, ballads, and works for piano and chorus. His music was first aired on the BBC in 1930 and his students included Leopold Spinner, Samuel Adler, Gary Lee Nelson, and Thomas F. Hulbert.

To be eligible for the Pisk Prize, submissions must meet the following criteria. Eligible submissions:

• Must have been accepted and presented at the AMS Annual Meeting held during the award year.
• Must have been delivered by a presenter who was a graduate student at the time they submitted their annual meeting proposal (15 February).
• Must include either documented proof of student status or contact information for an authorized person who can affirm the nominee’s student status.
• May include papers presented as part of an AMS Study Group/Committee-sponsored session.

Self-nominations must be received via the AMS Award Nomination form by 11:59 p.m. ET on the submission deadline. Nominations should include the text of the paper. Nominations may also include other materials used in the presentation such as visual materials and audio/video examples. The timing for each example may be indicated in the body of the paper. Any reference to the applicant’s institutional affiliation must be removed from materials submitted for this application.

A committee of scholars will choose two award recipients from among all eligible candidates. The winners each receive a monetary prize and a certificate. An individual may receive the Pisk Prize only once. A single work of scholarship may receive only one AMS award.

All self-nominations must be submitted by 1 December 2026.