9th Brandenburg Biennale Composition Competition
In cooperation with Universal Edition, Vienna, the Association of Friends of the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra (FBS e.V.) announces the ninth edition of its competition for composers of symphonic music. The competition is international and open to all age groups.
Participants:
- apply by sending an e-mail to biennale9@fbsym.de with name, first name and contact details.
After registration, participants will receive an upload link to submit their compositions:
1) they upload up to three different orchestral scores composed after 2019 in PDF format in a graphic resolution of 300 dpi - printed in DIN A3 they should be neatly legible.
The score PDFs should bear the family name and first name of the participating composer as the file name, but no name may appear in the file itself! If necessary, erase it from the front page and the first page of the score.
Example: StrawinskyIgor1.pdf
The organiser codifies and anonymises all the files.
It is acceptable to submit scores of works which have already been performed.
2) they upload up to three different recordings corresponding to the submitted scores in a common audio format. (The recordings may also be produced technically.)
The sound files should have the same file names as the scores.
Example: StrawinskyIgor1.mp3
The organiser codifies and anonymises all the files.
- pay a participation fee of 20 € with the intended purpose „9th Biennial“ and the name of the applicant via PayPal biennale9@fbsym.de or by bank transfer: DE15160620730000000990 BIC:GENODEF1BRB
On June 8th and 9th 2026 the following jury will select the winners:
- Martina Kalser-Gruber, Promotion Manager, Universal Edition, Vienna
- Ying Wang 王穎, composer, Berlin, Biennale-awardee 2012
- José María Sánchez-Verdú, Composer, Berlin and Madrid
- Andreas Spering, chief conductor of Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra Markus Rindt, artistic director of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra
The jury will award the following prizes:
- the „Komponistenpreis“: it’s a commission endowed with 5000€ for an orchestral work to be first performed by the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra.
- the „da capo-Preis“: the second or a further performance of one of the submitted pieces by the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra.
- the prize winners have the right to publish their works with Universal Edition scodo and receive an annual subscription to scodo professional as part of their prize.
- in addition, all participants receive a voucher for a free submission to the Universal Edition scodo evaluation.
The winners will be informed on the 9th of June 2026.
Transmittals must be uploaded by April 17th 2026 24:00 CET.
If you have any questions about the competition call or write to the chairwoman of the FBS association, Ms Andrea-Carola Güntsch +49 1522 875 42 27 e-mail: biennale9@fbsym.de
https://fbsym.de/biennale/