Except for one all composers responded positively and 16 songs competed on 13 February 1988.

Writers produce manuscripts, painters produce canvases, but composers typically respond to commissions.

A composer may also respond to a text by expanding a choral symphony beyond the normal bounds of the symphonic genre.

In the meantime, new-music composers have responded promptly to the Web site's summons.

Some composers and performers for whom songfulness is serious business are responding this week.

Even so, only 40 composers responded, making the odds of success fairly high.

Several hundred composers responded, and in 1998, Mr. Livingston's jury - the staff of his magazine - gathered to sort through the works.

Many composers also responded to the liturgical changes brought about by the Reformation.

Since composers respond to a culture, a social construct, instead of leading, he might better engage in social criticism.

Not all American composers responded gratefully.