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BBC launches Young Composer 2025–26 competition

The six-month application period is now open
Former BBC Young Composer Grace-Evangeline Mason was subsequently commissioned to write for the BBC Proms At…Stage@TheDock
Former BBC Young Composer Grace-Evangeline Mason was subsequently commissioned to write for the BBC Proms At…Stage@TheDock - Chris Mason

Aspiring composers aged 12–18 are invited to enter the BBC Young Composer competition.

The competition is open to young people from all backgrounds and all levels of technical ability. Applicants may write in any musical genre and use any instruments or compositional methods of their choice.

Entries will be judged in three categories, according to age on 1 July 2025: Lower Junior (ages 12–14), Upper Junior (ages 15–16), and Senior (ages 17–18). Compositions will be evaluated on their originality, creativity, and compositional ideas. The jury is still to be announced.

Six winners will receive a place on a tailored development programme, where they will be mentored by a professional composer and work on a composing project; this will culminate in a live performance or broadcast opportunity with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

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