American Composers Forum records

The American Composers Forum is a non-profit service organization for composers, founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1975. The organization began through the efforts of University of Minnesota graduate students in music, including Libby Larsen and Stephen Paulus, and was originally funded through university student activity funds. The organization became formally incorporated as the Minnesota Composers Forum in 1975, and in 1977 moved operations to office space in the Landmark Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

By 1996, a majority of Minnesota Composers Forum members were living outside of Minnesota. To reflect their changing constituency, the organization changed its name to the American Composers Forum, and chapter organizations were established in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Philadelphia between 1995-2000.

The American Composers Forum continues to offer support to emerging and established composers across the United States. They remain headquarted in the Saint Paul Landmark Center, and continue to partner with performing ensembles and other service organizations at both the local and national level.