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. Deadline to apply is: April 17th 2026.
how to apply
Participants apply by sending an e-mail to biennale9@fbsym.de with name, first name and contact details and paying a participation fee of 20 €.
After registration, participants will receive an upload link to submit their compositions:
- 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.
The organiser codifies and anonymises all the files.
It is acceptable to submit scores of works which have already been performed. - 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 anonymises the filenames.
Applications must be uploaded by April 17th 2026 24:00 CET.
On June 8th and 9th 2026 the following jury will select the winners.
The jury
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
Prizes
The jury will award the following prizes:
- the “Composition Prize”: it’s a commission endowed with 5000€ for an orchestral work to be first performed by the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra.
- the “da capo Prize”: 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.
And the winner is…
The winners will be informed on the 9th of June 2026.
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
Get more info here.