The Gaudeamus Award is our yearly incentive prize for young composers. Ever since the first winner (Peter Schat in 1957) the Award has been a kickstart for the career of many composers.
A maximum of four composers will be nominated for the Award. The nominees will be part of the Gaudeamus Festival 2027 (8-12 September 2027). On the final night of the festival the winner of the Award will be chosen by an independent jury. The prize consists of a commission worth €6,000 for a new work to be premiered at a future edition of the Gaudeamus Festival. The nominees’ main entries for the competition will be performed during the festival. They will also be commissioned to develop a new piece especially for the festival. After the festival, Gaudeamus will continue to support the nominated composers. Selected works may be performed elsewhere, and composers will be regularly involved in festivals and co-productions with other organizations. The intention is to further the career development of young composers.
Jury
The formation of the jury is crucial for a broad selection of nominees. We always form the jury with composers/performers/tutors, representing the broad spectrum of contemporary music. As a rule, the jury members are all educators as well, at a school or privately, and the jury members will coach the nominees during the preparations for the festival. For 2027, the jury consists of Sarah Hennies, Thanasis Deligiannis and Marcela Lucatelli.
Side Reader Procedure
In the initial selection process the jury will be supported by three side readers to create a longlist, which will be looked into in detail by the jury. In this first phase, each of the jury members look at ⅓ of the submissions. Simultaneously, the side readers will also look at ⅓ of the submissions, but divided in a different way. (This is to prevent that we pair one jurymember with one side reader. We structure this in such a way as using bricks to build a house). We ensure that all the submissions are reviewed by at least one jury member and that all the submissions are viewed by two pairs of eyes. The whole process is chaired by the Gaudeamus team. With this recently renewed procedure we ensure that, despite the increasing amount of submissions each year, all the submissions are reviewed with the care they deserve. The side readers this year are Meriç Artaç, Nicholas Morrish, and Alison Isadora.
Gaudeamus Academy 2027
In the week before the Gaudeamus Festival (8-12 September 2027), the 4 nominated composers will work with the focus ensembles on their newly commissioned works and rehearse the selected works. The focus ensembles for 2027 will be known in October 2026. Members of the jury will facilitate discussions between composers and musicians. The Gaudeamus Academy will be devoted to the composers in the interest of research, reflection, and development, but will also feature meetings and workshops open to the public.
Registration fee & accommodation
The registration fee for the competition is €35. After you are selected, accommodation and participation in the festival are free of charge. Also, the travel costs to and from Utrecht will be reimbursed to the participant. If for any reason, the registration fee is an obstacle that is preventing you from partaking in this call, please contact us via gaudeamusaward@gaudeamus.nl and we will see how we can accommodate you.