The Society for Music Analysis gives several annual awards to scholars in recognition of their exceptional achievement and contribution to the field of music theory and analysis. The current call for nominations for each award can be found below including deadlines, what to submit and eligibility criteria. A list of previous award winners can be found on our SMA Awards page.
Please send awards nominations together with supporting documents to admin@sma.ac.uk.
All queries should be addressed to the Awards Officer at awards@sma.ac.uk
SMA Undergraduate Award
This has been established for several years and will continue in essentially the same format. It is given annually for an outstanding piece of undergraduate work featuring musical analysis. Nominations should consist of a dissertation or extended essay (the major component of a single-credit undergraduate module) submitted at an undergraduate level at a UK or Republic of Ireland institution during the 2024-25 academic year, which received a mark of 70% or more, and features music analysis as a prominent component. Nominees must have studied as an undergraduate in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. Nominations should be accompanied with a letter from a lecturer at the student’s institution confirming the mark received.
Institutions/colleges can nominate a maximum of one candidate (Oxford and Cambridge are viewed as single universities). Where multiple submissions are received, the UG programme director or equivalent at the respective institution will be contacted to make a decision of which should go forward.
The closing date for nominations is Thursday 30th April 2026.
The panel for this award will be:
Chair: Ian Pace: Awards Officer, SMA
Christopher Tarrant: President, SMA
Peter Smith: Trustee, SMA
Esther Cavett: Trustee, SMA
The winning candidate will be given the option of presenting a paper at the 2027 Theory & Analysis Graduate Students (TAGS) or Music Analysis (MAC) conference (the choice of which will follow discussions with the SMA board), with registration and accommodation paid for by the society. They will also be asked to produce an article derived from the work which will be published in the SMA Newsletter. The prize will be £100 together with student membership for a year, and also include complementary registration for the next MAC.
TAGS Award
This is an award for an outstanding paper delivered at the 2025-26 Theory and Analysis Graduate Student Conference, taking place on 30 April – 1 May 2025, at Royal Holloway, University of London. A winner will be determined by Friday 10th April 2026. The award will be worth £150 and the winning article will be published on the SMA website.
SMA PhD Thesis Prize
This is a prize for a doctoral thesis which was completed with all corrections completed during the 2024-25 academic year, and which features a major component of music analysis. Nominees must have undertaken their PhD in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. Nominations should include an electronic copy of the thesis, and be accompanied by a letter from a lecturer at the student’s institution.
Please note that all nominators should indicate one or max. two chapters for the judges to consider.
Institutions/colleges can nominate a maximum of one candidate (Oxford and Cambridge are viewed as single universities). Where multiple submissions are received, the PhD programme director or equivalent at the respective institution will be contacted to make a decision of which should go forward.
The closing date for nominations is Thursday 30th April 2026.
The panel for this award will be:
Chair: Jack Boss: Trustee, SMA
Julian Horton: Vice-President, SMA
James Donaldson: Trustee, SMA
Rajan Lal: Trustee, SMA
Eva Moreda Rodriguez, University of Glasgow
The winning candidate will be given the option of presenting a paper at the 2027 Music Analysis (MAC) conference, with registration and accommodation paid for by the society. They will also be asked to produce an article derived from the work which will be published in the SMA Newsletter. The award will be worth £250 and also include complementary registration for the next MAC.
Adele Katz Early Career Researcher Award
This is an award named after the late post-Schenkerian analyst Adele Katz (1887-1979), for an Early Career Researcher, defined as someone who has either completed their PhD in the last eight years or has been in permanent or temporary salaried employment as a musicologist for a period of not more than five years, who has produced important work in the field of music analysis. It will be awarded to a maximum of three individuals. All SMA members are invited to nominate up to three candidates (self-nominations are not permitted), with an order of preference, marking 1 for the most-favoured, and 3 for the least. Nominations should include a paragraph of text about the nominee, and at least one article, book chapter or monograph or other format (a portfolio of up to three pieces of work can also be considered), ideally with copies of these sent, or otherwise references which indicate where they can be found. Nominees must be based or employed in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.
The closing date for nominations is Thursday 30th April 2026.
The panel for this award will be:
Chair: Jack Boss: Trustee, SMA
Christopher Tarrant: President, SMA
Ian Pace: Awards Officer, SMA
Shay Loya: Chair, editorial board, Music Analysis
Annika Forkert: Trustee, SMA
The prize will be £350 for each winner (maximum of three), and an invitation to give a 45-minute talk with 15 minutes of questions at MAC 2027, with expenses covered.
Anthony Pople Mid-Career Researcher Award
This is an award named after the late musicologist Anthony Pople (1955-2003), for a Mid-Career Researcher, defined as someone in permanent academic employment, holding a position of Senior Lecturer or above (or equivalent – Assistant Professor will be deemed equivalent to Senior Lecturer), with a body of music analysis work behind them, to be judged as a whole, and who would not fall into the category of Early Career Researcher (see above). It will be awarded to a maximum of two individuals. All SMA members are invited to nominate up to three candidates (self-nominations are not permitted), with an order of preference, marking 1 for the more-favoured, 2 for the less. Nominations should include a paragraph of text about the nominee, and at least one article, book chapter or monograph or other format (a portfolio of up to three pieces of work can also be considered), ideally with copies of these sent, or otherwise references which indicate where they can be found. Nominees must be based or employed in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland.
The closing date for nominations is Thursday 30th April 2026.
The panel for this award will be:
Chair: Kenneth Smith: Trustee, SMA
Julian Horton: Vice-President, SMA
Peter H. Smith: Trustee, SMA
Ed Venn: Editor, Music Analysis
Anne Hyland, Associate Editor, Music Analysis
The prize will be £500 for each winner (a maximum of two), and an invitation to give a 45-minute talk with 15 minutes of questions at MAC 2027, with expenses covered.
Pascall Medal
Named after the late Robert Pascall (1944-2018), and reflecting his inestimable work in the discipline of music analysis, this award is now entering its fifth year. It will be awarded to any scholar from any country, and from any stage of their career, who is deemed to have made a highly significant contribution to analytically-based musicological research and/or the teaching of music analysis. The scholar awarded will be invited to give a keynote address at MAC 2026, for which free enrolment and accommodation will be provided. All SMA members are invited to nominate a maximum of three candidates (self-nominations are not permitted). An order of preference must be given, marking 1 for the most-favoured, and 3 for the least. Those who nominate should provide a 500-word assessment about each candidate’s contribution, ideally with copies of some key relevant publications (a maximum of three attached documents). Nominees can be from any country.
The closing date for nominations is Thursday 30th April 2026.
The panel for this award will be:
Chair: Ian Pace: Awards Officer, SMA
Christopher Tarrant: President, SMA
Ed Venn: Editor, Music Analysis
Annika Forkert: Trustee, SMA
Esther Cavett: Trustee, SMA
Aidan McGartland: Student Representative, SMA