The winners of the National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award 2026 have been announced.
The final of the 19th National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award, presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3, took place on Thursday 16 April at the National Centre for Early Music in York.
This year there are two winners in the 19 to 25 years category: Kat Farn with LABYRINTH and Edward Tait with My troubled sense doth move. The winner in the 18 years and under category is Laura Kesiak with In this strange labyrinth how shall I turn.
This year, the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) and BBC Radio 3 invited aspiring young composers to compose a new song setting for soprano, cornett and keyboard, to be performed by The Gonzaga Band, who are renowned for innovative programming underpinned by cutting-edge research.
The composers took 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. The song setting explored the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments, setting a poem by Lady Mary Wroth, a contemporary of Shakespeare.
The eight young finalists took part in a day of workshops at the National Centre for Early Music’s home St Margaret’s Church, a popular year-round music venue.
The sessions were led by composer Professor Christopher Fox, composer and Honorary Professor of Music at the University of York, and The Gonzaga Band, who performed the pieces in a public performance at the venue.
The concert was live-streamed and is available to view on the NCEM Young Composers Award website here.
The shortlisted composers and pieces:
In the 19-25 category:
- Kat Farn – LABYRINTH
- Edward Tait – My troubled sense doth move
- Sequoia Ralph – In this strange labyrinth how shall I turn?
In the 18 and under category:
- Heath Thompson – HOW SHALL I TURN?
- Ben Hadland – In this Strange Labyrinth
- Laura Kesiak – In this strange labyrinth how shall I turn
- Ernest Chui – In This STRANGE Labyrinth How Shall I Turn???
- Alma Nunez Debretzeni – In this Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn?
The 2026 panel of judges were: Les Pratt, BBC Radio 3 producer; Delma Tomlin, Director of the NCEM; and The Gonzaga Band’s Faye Newton.
The winning compositions 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.
Delma Tomlin, MBE, director of the NCEM said: “The Young Composers Award is one of the most important elements of our work here at the NCEM and is recognised as an important stepping stone in the composers’ careers.
“The finalists spent an intensive day in York working on their compositions and sharing ideas with fellow participants before having the chance to hear their music performed on stage.
“It was wonderful to enjoy such an array of outstanding music, and my congratulations go to Laura, Kat and Edward.
“It has been a pleasure to join forces with The Gonzaga Band, and I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Dr Christopher Fox, my fellow judges and of course BBC Radio 3, who will be recording Laura, Kat and Edward’s pieces in concert at their premiere in Birmingham for broadcast later this year.”
