ENTRIES are now open for the prestigious NCEM Young Composers Award 2023, presented each year by York’s National Centre for Early Music, in association with BBC Radio 3.

Young composers are being invited to write a new piece, based on a popular tune from the Spanish ‘Golden Age’ of the 16th and 17th centuries, for performance by the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble.

The award is open to young composers resident in Great Britain up to the age of 25 and is judged in two age categories: 18 and under and 19 to 25.

NCEM director Dr Delma Tomlin said: “The Young Composers Award continues to be one of the highlights on the NCEM’s calendar and is an extremely important part of the organisation’s work.

“For the 2023 awards, we are delighted to be working with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, an award-winning group with a host of distinguished recordings to its name.

“The winning compositions will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show, a wonderful way to launch the careers of aspiring young composers.”

BBC Radio 3 controller Alan Davey added: “Here at Radio 3, we believe that it is vital to encourage and support creative exploration.

“That is why we are so proud to partner with the National Centre for Early Music once more for its 2023 Young Composers Award. This collaboration enables us to expose our audiences at home to some of the brightest talents in Early Music practice, broadcasting their works on our Early Music Show.”

Gawain Glenton, the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble’s co-director, said: “A key part of our mission as an ensemble is to expand the horizons of our beautiful instruments.

“We’re therefore thrilled to return as the ensemble-in-residence and can’t wait to see what the young composers write for us.”

Composers must register their interest by 12 noon on February 17 and scores should be submitted by March 17, 2023. Full details, including the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble’s guide on how to write for their instruments, can be found at youngcomposersaward.co.uk/

Shortlisted composers will be invited to a collaborative workshop at the NCEM, at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, led by composer Christopher Fox and the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble. In the evening, the shortlisted pieces will be performed with the judges present, when the two winning compositions will be announced.

The winning works will be premiered in a public performance at the Stoller Hall in Manchester on November 9 2023, when the concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show.