West Cork Music is delighted to announce the winners of the 2026 Composition Competition:

• Daniel Smith A Shape Becoming
• Aidan Taylor String Quartet No.2
• Amy Tyson Wheatfield with Crows

This was a very competitive year with more than twenty-five submissions. Many thanks to everyone who submitted their composition.

The winning scores will be workshopped at the Young Composers Forum at the 2026 West Cork Chamber Music Festival. The workshop will be led by composer Donnacha Dennehy, who was this year’s competition adjudicator.

Each work will receive a premiere at the Festival, performed by a conservatoire quartet as part of the Young Musicians Series.

You can hear more from Donnacha in our Talking Music series, and listen to performances of his works in this year’s programme including a new World Premiere from Attacca Quartet.