The hottest summer academy for emerging talents

An international gathering for emerging composers and conductors from all over the world, an intense and in-depth Academy is taking place in Ticino, Switzerland, to exchange, learn, create, and premiere new works specially written for the occasion by today's youngest generation of talents for the most acclaimed champions of contemporary music. 

The 2026 ensemble in residence: Ensemble intercontemporain. 
The 2026 composition professors: Chaya Czernowin, Michael Jarrell, Oscar Bianchi. 
The 2026 conducting professor: Pierre Bleuse. 

Awards and exchange programs include Archipel Festival Geneva and Quatuor Diotima Academy. 

2026 concerts: 

• Friday, 10 July, 20:30 —World premiere concert, Chiesa di Loco (Onsernone Valley): Ensemble intercontemporain, Pierre Bleuse, and friends.
• Sunday, 12 July, 11:00 — World premiere concert II, LAC Lugano: Ensemble intercontemporain, Pierre Bleuse, and friends.

2026 events at Casa Schira: 

• Friday, 3 July, 10:30  — Chaya Czernowin, presentation ;
• Saturday, 4 July, 10:30  —  The Nicati Foundation for Contemporary Music in Switzerland: Jessie Cox, Michael Jarrell, Oscar Bianchi ;
• Saturday, 4 July, 14:00  —  Michael Jarrel, presentation ;
• Sunday, 5 July, 10:30  — Oscar Bianchi, presentation ;
• Monday, 6 July, 14:00  — Visions for a prosperous future, round table with Pierre Bleuse, Chaya Cherznovin, Michael Jarrell, Oscar Bianchi & guests ;
• Wednesday, 8 July, 14:00  —  The tribal and the universal, visions for a post-identitarian future, round table with  Chaya Cherznovin, Michael Jarrell, Oscar Bianchi & guests ;
• Friday, 10 July, 14:00 — Lukas Pairon, lecture: ‘‘The role of composers and composition within participatory social and community music projects’’.

What participants will experience: 

• world premieres of your brand new work by Ensemble Intercontemporain at public concerts in three prestigious locations in the Onsernone Valley and Lugano ;
• ad hoc coaching and individual lessons with each faculty composer throughout the entire compositional process ;
• masterclasses with Ensemble Modern ;
• lectures, seminars by faculty & guest composers, participants’ showcase ;
• ‘‘state of the art’’ audio and video recordings will be made public after the concerts, streamed and broadcasted on our online channels, providing excellent exposure and direct access from the professional and academic worlds. 

Application Fee: CHF 0
Tuition Fee: CHF 399

Scholarships will be awarded.

TIMELINE

• 15 February 2026: submit your application by this date ;
• 26 February 2026: announcement of selected participants ;
• 28 February 2026: deadline for payments. If selected, tuition fees shall be paid by this date to secure your participation. If a scholarship is awarded, the tuition fees will be automatically refunded (partially or entirely) after the course (12July 2026) ;
• 1 March 2026, 2 pm CET: a preliminary online session including guidelines, advice, and compositional tips by the ensembles in residence and faculty ;
• 1 — 6 April 2026: intermediate online sessions with faculty and ensembles in residence. Individual lessons and discussions about ongoing drafts and compositional processes of your work ;
• 31 May 2026: delivery of score and parts ;
• 02 — 12 July 2026: Academy in Ticino ;
• 06 July 2026: opening concert ;
• 07 to 13 July 2026: rehearsals, coaching, and concerts with the Ensemble Modern and International Young Composers Academy ;
• 10, 11, and 12 July 2026: world première of your work by the ensembles in residence at prestigious locations in the Onsernone Valley and at LAC Lugano.

The vision behind the « International Young Composers Academy in Ticino » is to create a viable, valuable, and durable relationship between young composers from all corners of the world and today's beacons of contemporary music. Since the 2017 edition we have been seeking to enhance a fruitful exchange between renowned actors of the contemporary music field (Quatuor Diotima in 2020, ICTUS ensemble in 2021, Les Percussions de Strasbourg in 2022, Musikfabrik & Neuevocalsolisten in 2023, JACK and International Contemporary Ensemble in 2024, Ensemble Modern in 2019 and 2025) and the new vibrant voices of today's composition landscape. Further pivotal aspects of the course lie in academic training (through one-to-one lessons and daily lectures by faculty and guest composers) while coaching and accompanying the making of a brand-new work.

Inclusion, gender equality, and diversity are keystones of this Academy, where challenging cultural and stylistic diversities are embraced and questioned. 

Among the guest Faculty at the Academy:  Clara Iannotta, Francesca Verunelli, George Lewis, Lisa Streich, Simon Steen-Andersen, Juste Janulyte,  DuYun, Bernhard Gander, Farzia Fallah, Dmitri Kourliandski, Mauro Lanza, Samir Odeh-Tamimi and others.

The IYCA found its seeds within the framework of Ticino Musica, a summer course for young musicians. To better serve the needs and demands of a constantly evolving cultural and social context, the IYCA graduated as an independent entity, self-governed by its non-profit association.