The Hildegard Competition is National Sawdust’s premiere competition for emerging female, trans, and nonbinary composers. After a successful inaugural year in the 2017–18 season, the second year of the competition digs deeper into its purpose: Uncovering how gender affects the lens through which music is perceived by providing a platform for composers whose voices are often underrepresented in the conversation. In addition to a $7,000 cash prize and a professional performance and recording with the National Sawdust Ensemble, the winners will receive one-on-one mentorship with the established figures in the field who also serve as judges for the competition: Paola Prestini (National Sawdust’s Co-Founder and Artistic Director), Angélica Negrón, Du Yun, Tania León, and Gavin Rayna Russom. For an overview of last year’s winners, see below.