Project Beacon is the education arm of Brightwork newmusic whose members believe strongly in nurturing the next generation of musicians. Brightwork is excited to join with composer Nina Shekhar to present The High School Composer Initiative which will identify young composers from greater Los Angeles with potential and ambition, and provide educational workshops, ongoing mentoring and other support over the course of six months as the composers write new works for Brightwork. These new compositions will be performed and recorded at a Tuesdays @ Monk Space concert in June 2021. To increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the field of new music, during the application roll-out we will focus on high schools that enroll high numbers of students from historically underrepresented groups in classical music. Students who participate will receive a copy of the recording for their portfolio and college applications.