The National Centre for Early Music has announced the 2026 Young Composers Award on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show.

Presented annually in partnership with BBC Radio 3, the award invites UK-based composers up to age 25 to create a new song setting for soprano, cornett, and keyboard. For 2026, participants will work with The Gonzaga Band, comprised of Jamie Savan (cornett), Faye Newton (soprano), and Steven Devine (keyboard); the ensemble is recognized for its research-driven approach to late Renaissance and early Baroque music.

Young composers are asked to draw inspiration from the experimental musical language of Monteverdi and his contemporaries, as heard in The Gonzaga Band’s recent program “Love’s Labyrinth.” Entries must set a poem by Lady Mary Wroth and explore the theme of love through the interplay of voice and instruments.

Shortlisted composers will take part in a workshop day in York on April 16, 2026, led by Christopher Fox and members of The Gonzaga Band, followed by a public performance at the National Centre for Early Music. The winning works will receive their premiere on Oct. 27, 2026, in a lunchtime concert at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.

“We are excited to collaborate with the NCEM and BBC Radio 3 on the Young Composers Award for 2026,” said Savan, per an official press release. “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!”

Registration closes Feb. 2, 2026; scores are due Mar. 2, 2026. Shortlisted candidates will attend the Award Day in York on Apr. 16, 2026.

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