presented in association with
BBC Radio 3 and The Gonzaga Band
NCEM
YOUNG COMPOSERS
AWARD 2026
The National Centre for Early Music and BBC Radio 3 invite you to write a new piece for leading Renaissance ensemble The Gonzaga Band.
The Award is open to young composers resident in the UK up to and including the age of 25, and is judged in two age categories: 18 and under, and 19–25.
You are invited to write a new trio piece for The Gonzaga Band, an ensemble specialising in music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. It should be written for soprano, treble or mute cornetto, and harpsichord or organ. You should take as inspiration the experimental and innovative music of Monteverdi and his contemporaries, evoked in The Gonzaga Band’s recently released recital programme Love’s Labyrinth, which you can listen to here. In their madrigals and canzonettas they found new ways to express the joys and pains of love. We would like you to write a song setting that explores the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments, setting a poem by Lady Mary Wroth. Wroth was a contemporary of Shakespeare, a noblewoman who is thought to have been the first English woman to have her original prose fiction published.
Please see the Terms & Conditions for full details about the music brief, including the duration of your piece, and the text which you should set.
Don’t forget to register by 12 noon on Monday 2 February!
Registration closes at 12 noon, Monday 2 February, with the deadline for submission of scores on Monday 2 March. Shortlisted candidates will be informed by Monday 16 March and will be invited to attend the Award Day in York on Thursday 16 April. NCEM will provide accommodation and cover appropriate travel costs.
The annual NCEM Young Composers Award was launched in 2008 and is the only such scheme in the UK. It offers a unique opportunity for young composers to engage with the instruments and performance styles of early music, and to work with leading professional early musicians. In bridging the worlds of ‘early’ and ‘new’ music, the Award complements the NCEM’s education policy, to support and nurture young composers and demonstrate to all participants that the music of previous centuries is relevant to today’s creative endeavours.
This year the National Centre for Early Music is working with The Gonzaga Band. The winning pieces will be premiered by The Gonzaga Band in a public performance as part of the Birmingham Royal Conservatoire’s lunchtime concert series on Tuesday 27 October 2026. This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show.
How to apply
Application is a two-stage process
Register
Complete the form and submit it by 12 noon on Monday 2 February.
When you register you’ll receive a link to the Application form.
Apply
Read the Terms and Conditions for full details of what to write and how to apply. Then complete the Application form, upload your score, and submit it by 12 noon on Monday 2 March.
Register your interest
Register by 12 noon on 2 February
You’ll receive an email with the link to the application form. If you don’t see it, check your Spam folder or email info.composers@ncem.co.uk
