NCEM Young Composers Award 2026
Published on January 14, 2026
The National Centre for Early Music is pleased to launch its 2026 Young Composers Award, presented in association with BBC Radio 3 and The Gonzaga Band.
Register your interest now for this fantastic opportunity to create a new trio piece for The Gonzaga Band, an ensemble specialising in music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, and a chance to have it broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Young composers up to the age of 25 are invited to write a new trio piece. It should be written for soprano, treble or mute cornetto, and harpsichord or organ.
Composers should take as inspiration the innovative music of Monteverdi and his contemporaries. In their madrigals and canzonettas these composers found new ways to express the joys and pains of love. They would like you to write an instrumental song setting that explores the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments.
You can find the full brief on their website.
Register your interest by Monday 2 February, 12 noon, for this fantastic opportunity!
After submission, selected composers will be invited to a workshop with members of The Gonzaga Band and composer Christopher Fox in York on Thursday 16 April 2026.
The award will be judged in two age categories: 18 years and under; and 19 to 25 years.
Completed scores must be received by Monday 2 March, 12 noon.