The National Centre for Early Music have launched the Young Composers Award 2026 – here’s how you can enter.
Each year the award is presented by the National Centre for Early Music in association with BBC Radio 3.
For the 2026 instalment, young composers will be working with musicians of The Gonzaga Band, specialists of late Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire.
Young composers are invited to compose a new song setting for soprano, cornett and keyboard, to be performed by the Gonzaga Band: (Jamie Savan cornett; Faye Newton soprano, Steven Devine keyboard) an internationally acclaimed ensemble renowned for innovative programming, underpinned by cutting-edge research.
The song should take inspiration from the experimental and innovative music of Claudio Monteverdi and his contemporaries, evoked in The Gonzaga Band’s recently released recital programme Love’s Labyrinth. Candidates should write a song setting that explores the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments, setting a poem by Lady Mary Wrath, a contemporary of Shakespeare.
Composers selected for the final are invited to a collaborative workshop day in York on 16 April 2026, led by composer Christopher Fox and the members of The Gonzaga Band. This will be followed by a public performance of all the selected compositions at the National Centre for Early Music.
The winning entries will be premiered by The Gonzaga Band in a lunchtime concert at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Tuesday 27 October 2026, which will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.
This major national annual award is open to young composers up to the age of 25 resident in the UK and is divided into two categories: 18 years and under and 19 to 25 years.
Dr Delma Tomlin MBE, director, NCEM said: “The Young Composers Award is one of the annual highlights at the NCEM, and we always enjoy welcoming and nurturing the extraordinary array of talent these young composers have to offer.
“The award truly makes a difference to young composers’ career paths – it has proved to be an important stepping stone in the careers of these young people. We are very proud of our success to date and look forward to welcoming composers from across the UK to join with us in partnership with the Gonzaga Band.”
Jamie Savan of The Gonzaga Band said: “We are excited to collaborate with the NCEM and BBC Radio 3 on the Young Composers Award for 2026. We are passionate about expanding the contemporary repertoire for cornett (the most ‘vocal’ of instruments) together with soprano voice and historical keyboards, and we can’t wait to work with the next generation of composers on this project!”
Alumni of the award include: Owain Park, now director of BBC Singers; Sarah Cattley; Kristina Arakelyen; Kerensa Briggs; and Anna Disley-Simpson, whose new work was performed last year as part of the York Early Music Festival.
Entrants should register online by 12 noon, Friday 2 February 2026. The deadline for submission of scores on Friday 2 March 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend the Award Day in York on Thursday 16 April.
NCEM will meet reasonable travel and accommodation costs from within the UK.
