We are delighted to announce that the West Cork Chamber Music Young Composers’ Competition is now open for entries. We welcome submissions from all Irish and Irish-resident composers under 35.
Past judges of this competition include Deirdre Gribbin, Lera Auerbach, Brett Dean, Bushra El-Turk and Andrea Tarrodi.
This year’s judge will be Donnacha Dennehy
Past winners of the Competition include Seán Doherty (whose work I am the World was commissioned by the European Federation for Choral Music), Solfa Carlile and Amanda Feery, (both winners of the Seán Ó Riada competition), Robert Coleman (NCH Jerome Hynes competition winner) and Finola Merivale (a Dean’s Fellow at Columbia University).
- Scored for string quartet (2 violins, 1 viola and 1 cello). Works requiring other instruments, pre-recorded sounds or electronics are not eligible for consideration. ∙ 5-8 minutes duration.
- Has not been submitted to this competition on a previous occasion.
- Has not been performed in concert prior to its performances at the 2026 West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
The competition will be judged anonymously and the international judge will select three winning scores on equal footing.
- Entrants must be under the age of 35 on 1st January 2026.
- Entrants must either hold Irish nationality, be born in or resident on the island of Ireland, have an Irish-national parent, be an International student at an Irish third-level institution, or have lived in Ireland for at least one year.
- Each entrant can submit one work only each year.
- We can accept submissions from previous entrants and past winners under the age limit. Any works entered in previous years cannot be resubmitted.
- Works that have been performed in public prior to the Festival (26 June – 5 July 2026) are not eligible for consideration.
- Scores must be submitted to West Cork Music by 23:59 on Wednesday 25th March 2026. All scores must be submitted electronically. Submission must include a sound MIDI file of the composition, clearly labelled with the composition title. Please use the subject line YCC 2026 when submitting.
- Compositions will be assessed by an adjudicator chosen by West Cork Music.
- This competition is adjudicated anonymously. Any indication of the composer’s name or address on the score or on the MIDI file will lead to disqualification.
- Winning compositions will be announced on our Competition webpages in April 2026. The three winning composers will be notified directly by email.
- All winning composers must submit instrumental parts by Wednesday 29th April 2026 for distribution among members of the conservatoire quartets.
- It is a condition of entry that composers agree to attend the workshop in Bantry on during the Chamber Music Festival. In the event of non-attendance, prizes will be withheld. The festival will offer 3 nights’ accommodation to facilitate the composers’ attendance. All other expenses incurred are the responsibility of the winning composers.
- West Cork Music reserves the right to alter dates and times of the Young Composers Forum and subsequent performances.
Failure to meet these criteria will result in disqualification and withdrawal of prizes.
Please submit the full score electronically to Helen Dawson at: music@westcorkmusic.ie
This competition only accepts entries by email.
- Attachment in PDF format
- MIDI sound file
- Please use subject line YCC 2026
- Please include the following information:
– Composer’s name
– Title of composition
– Date of birth
– Current address
– Details of Irish citizenship/residency
– Phone number
– Current place of study/work
– How you heard about the competition, e.g. university email or noticeboard/WCM website/past-entrant/word of mouth/teacher
Composition competition 2026 Full Criteria
Download a submission form
