presented in association with
BBC Radio 3 and The Gonzaga Band
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Outline
Young composers from across the UK are invited to compose a new work for soprano, cornett and keyboard (harpsichord or organ), which utilises the remarkable skills of The Gonzaga Band.
A shortlist of entries will be presented by the ensemble in a workshop led by composer Christopher Fox at the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), York on Thursday 16 April 2026. At 7.00pm on the same day, The Gonzaga Band will perform each of the pieces in the presence of a panel of judges: Jamie Savan, Founder of The Gonzaga Band; Les Pratt, Producer BBC Radio 3; Delma Tomlin, Director of the National Centre for Early Music. Two winners will be announced, one for each of the two age categories.
The winning works 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 broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show.
It is recommended that all interested candidates listen to The Gonzaga Band’s newest CD, Love's Labyrinth: Songs and Duets of Monteverdi and his Contemporaries.
Registration and application are via the National Centre for Early Music’s website using the link below.
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The Brief
You are invited to write a new piece for The Gonzaga Band, an ensemble specialising in music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. Your piece should be written for soprano (Faye Newton), treble or mute cornetto (Jamie Savan) and harpsichord (single manual, Italian style) or organ (Steven Devine).
Please listen to The Gonzaga Band’s recently released recital programme Love’s Labyrinth: Songs and Duets of Monteverdi and his Contemporaries. The full recording is available via the usual download and streaming services, and the Gonzaga Band have kindly selected examples exclusively for download for the competition, accessible here.
The musical world of Monteverdi and his contemporaries was one of great experimentation and intricate ornamentation. 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.
Like Monteverdi and his contemporaries, you should think about the ‘vocality’ of the cornetto (or cornett) and the ‘instrumentality’ of the soprano voice. The cornetto was an instrument highly regarded for its ability to imitate the human voice and in your piece instrument and voice should combine to express the emotion of the words you set.
Your song setting will be between 3 and 4 minutes long. The songs recorded by the Gonzaga Band for Love’s Labyrinth are in Italian, but since this period of music coincides with a great flowering of English love poetry exemplified by poets like William Shakespeare and John Donne, we would like you to set a poem in English. We have chosen the sonnet ‘In this strange labyrinth how shall I turn’ from ‘A Crown of Sonnets Dedicated to Love’ by Lady Mary Wroth (1587-1651/3), one of the earliest English sonnet cycles by a female poet (published in 1621).
The Gonzaga Band will perform the pieces at modern concert pitch (A=440Hz) and in the tuning system known as ¼ comma meantone temperament. In this temperament major thirds are tuned pure (or beatless), which means they sound slightly narrower than in equal temperament (the system in which modern instruments are tuned). One consequence of this tuning is that semitones where the letter names of the notes change (C♯-D, D-Eâ™, etc.) are wider than in equal temperament, whereas semitones where the letter names stay the same (C-C♯, Bâ™-B, etc.) are narrower, more like an inflection. As a result, accidentals have a very expressive function in this temperament, as you can hear in Tarquinio Merulo’s Capriccio cromatico on the Love’s Labyrinth album.
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From ‘A Crown of Sonnets Dedicated to Love’, by Lady Mary Wroth:
In this strange labyrinth how shall I turn?
Ways are on all sides, while the way I miss:
If to the right hand, there, in love I burn;
Let me go forward, therein danger is.
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If to the left, suspicion hinders bliss;
Let me turn back, shame cries I ought return,
Nor faint, though crosses with my fortune kiss;
Stand still is harder, although sure to mourn.
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Thus let me take the right, or left hand way,
Go forward, or stand still, or back retire:
I must these doubts endure without allay
Or help, but travail find for my best hire.
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Yet that which most my troubled sense doth move,
Is to leave all, and take the thread of Love.
Award rules
Entry is open to all UK residents aged up to 25 at the time entry closes on Monday 2 March 2026.
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There are two categories for the awards as follows:
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18 years and under on the closing date (born on or after 02/03/2007)
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19 – 25 years on the closing date (born between 01/03/2001 and 01/03/2007)
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Applicants and winners of past awards are eligible to enter the 2026 award.
Employees and close family members of the BBC, BBC Group Companies, the NCEM and The Gonzaga Band, and persons connected to the award and their close relatives are not eligible to enter. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.
The composition must be unaccompanied.
The composition should be scored for soprano, cornett (with option to use mute cornett), and either the harpsichord or organ.
The composition should be minimum 3 minutes duration and maximum 4 minutes. Please use your score notation software to check the duration accurately.
How to enter
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Composers interested in entering the award must register their interest by completing the online form at youngcomposersaward.co.uk by 12 noon on Monday 2 February 2026. Please ensure that you register in good time as late registrations cannot be accepted.
Following registration, you will receive a link to the online application form. The completed application form, along with your uploaded score, should be submitted online no later than 12 noon on Monday 2 March 2026. Allow plenty of time for this in case of technical hitches. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.
Your score should have your name on it and should be in A4 format, ideally produced using computerised publishing software, and submitted as a pdf file. Name the file in the format: your surname.initial_title of your piece. For example: Spafford.O_Bog Bodies.
Entrants aged under 18 must have the consent of a parent or guardian for their entries to be valid.
Judging criteria
Shortlisted entrants will be judged on the following criteria:
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Skilful use of compositional techniques.
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Imaginative composition fused with an awareness of effective writing for instrumental ensemble.​
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Selection process
A shortlist of up to 8 entrants will be chosen by a judging panel consisting of a member of the National Centre for Early Music, the BBC, The Gonzaga Band and a professional composer. All entrants will be notified in the week of 16 March whether their pieces have been shortlisted.
The judging panel is unable to provide individual feedback but will offer general remarks about the submissions to unsuccessful applicants.
Shortlisted entrants will be expected to attend a full day workshop at the NCEM on Thursday 16 April 2026 led by composer Christopher Fox, where they will hear their pieces presented by The Gonzaga Band.
At 7.00pm on the same day, Thursday 16 April 2026, the shortlisted pieces will be performed at the NCEM in the presence of the panel of judges and an invited audience. The winning piece(s) will be announced after the concert. The performance will be livestreamed through the NCEM’s website.
Should a shortlisted entrant not be available after reasonable attempts to contact them, the NCEM reserves the right to select another entrant to attend the workshop or – where applicable – to be awarded the prize.
The NCEM’s selection of the winners is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
The NCEM will provide accommodation for the workshop and performance, and will reimburse reasonable transport costs, for the shortlisted entrants and for one parent/guardian of those under the age of 18.
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The Prize
The prize offered is a performance by The Gonzaga Band of the winning compositions in a public concert as part of the Birmingham Royal Conservatoire’s lunchtime concert series on Tuesday 27 October 2026. This concert will be recorded for future broadcast by BBC Radio 3.
Should the prize not be able to be delivered in the form stated above and/or at the date stated above, NCEM/partners reserve the right to award a suitable alternative.
There will be no cash equivalent and the prize cannot be transferred.
Each winner will receive a complimentary set of tickets to this concert for themselves and up to two members of their family/friends. Their names and educational institutions (if appropriate) will be listed in the programme.
Reasonable transport and accommodation costs for this concert will be reimbursed by the NCEM to the winners and up to two members of their family/friends.
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Copyright and permissions
By submitting your composition, you grant to the BBC, NCEM and The Gonzaga Band free of charge, permission to use the material in any way they want (including modifying and adapting it for operational and editorial reasons) for services in any media worldwide (including on the sites accessed by international users).
In order that the BBC can use your composition you must confirm that:
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your composition is your own original work
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it has not previously been performed or published
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it does not infringe any UK laws
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you have the right to give the BBC permission to use it for the purposes specified above
Copyright in your composition will remain with you after the premiere and the aforementioned permission is non-exclusive. You can continue to use the material in any way you wish, and you can also permit others to use the material.
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Any competitor under the age of 18 who attends a workshop or public performance must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
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The shortlisted entrants must be prepared to work with the NCEM and its partners to raise the profile for the award. This will include consent to be photographed and filmed during the process, and to supply information for press materials and conduct radio and television interviews if requested. The publicity materials gathered will be used by the NCEM and its partners on their websites and in general publicity material. It is understood that the NCEM and its partners have the right to perform, record and broadcast the winning piece(s) subject to the usual Performing Rights contractual arrangements.
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All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. In addition, the use of generative AI tools to create or develop any part of an entry is not permitted and will lead to disqualification. The BBC and NCEM accept no responsibility if entrants and/or their parent/guardian ignore these Terms and Conditions and entrants and/or their parent/guardian agree to indemnify the BBC against any claim by any third party from any breach of these Terms and Conditions.
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The shortlisted entrants may be filmed and/or interviewed and will be required to assign to the BBC/NCEM/The Gonzaga Band, the copyright and other rights for all purposes (including use in all media now known or which may hereafter become known) in their contribution for broadcast for the full period of copyright and any extensions, revivals or renewals thereof.
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The shortlisted entrants will grant the BBC/NCEM/The Gonzaga Band, the unlimited right to edit, copy, add to, take from, adapt or translate their contributions for broadcast or performance. The entrants also waive irrevocably any “moral rights” they may have under the laws of any jurisdiction.
The shortlisted entrants will grant the NCEM/The Gonzaga Band, the right to perform the piece after the premiere.
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Contributions cover all contributions made by the shortlisted entrants in connection with the production of any BBC programme including, but not limited to, their performance (including rehearsals) and spoken, written and artistic materials (including audio and video recordings thereof).
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The NCEM reserves the right to:
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cancel or adapt the award
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vary or change the prizes
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disqualify any entrant who breaches the rules or who commits a fraud, at any stage, if in their opinion it is deemed necessary or if circumstances arise outside its control.
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In so far as it applies, the programme accords with the BBC's Code of Conduct for Competitions and Voting, details of which can be found on the BBC's Standards and Guidelines website: www.bbc.com/editorialguidelines/guidance/code-of-conduct
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The promoter of the award is the National Centre for Early Music and is subject to the law of England and Wales.
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Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and agree to be bound by them by entering the award.
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The NCEM Young Composers Award is intended as an educational project and preference will be given to those who have not yet embarked on a professional career.
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Privacy notice
The personal data you provide will be processed by the NCEM in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, for the purposes of administering the award.
For further information about how NCEM processes your personal information including your rights under data protection law, please see the NCEM’s Privacy Policy at PRIVACY NOTICE – NCEM.
The personal data of all entrants will be passed to the BBC if requested for the purposes of judging the award and recording of the winners’ scores. After the award, the BBC will destroy all personal data except that of the winners, which will be retained for a period of 2 years for regulatory purposes and kept in the programme records.
When your personal information is passed to the BBC, the BBC is a separate controller of your personal information. That means the BBC is responsible for your personal information when it is passed to the BBC. The BBC has a legitimate interest to process your personal information for the purpose of administering the competition. We have considered the impact of our processing on you, and we are satisfied that the personal information that is provided to the BBC is limited and is necessary to review the applications and conduct the competition.
For further information about how the BBC processes your personal information, your rights under data protection law and the contact details of the BBC’s Data Protection Officer, please see the BBC’s Privacy Policy at www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/privacy-policy