As part of the 21st WOMEN IN JAZZ Festival in Halle (Saale), the WOMEN IN JAZZ – NEXT GENERATION VIRTUAL competition will take place for the 7th time. With this, they continue the idea of presenting creative young female jazz musicians from Europe to an audience in the context of the WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL. They use the festival website to present the young jazz musicians and their current projects to an interested jazz community. Application deadline: Monday, March 2, 2026, midnight (CET)
Timeline
- Application phase opens: Monday, February 2, 2026 (via www.womeninjazz.de)
- Application deadline: Monday, March 2, 2026, midnight (CET)
- Competition starts: Monday, March 16, 2026
- Online voting: March 16, 2026 – Sunday, March 29, 2026, midnight
- Finalists’ concert: Tuesday, May 5, 2026, Georgenkirche, Halle (Saale)
20 applicants will be admitted to the competition. After online voting ends, the three winners will be invited to perform on May 5, 2026. Each formation will play a set of up to 60 minutes in front of a jury and a live audience. The final winner will be determined based on the audience vote and the jury’s evaluation.
Prizes
- Jazz Prize of the City of Halle (Saale): €1,000
- Two second prizes: €500 each
Application requirements
Eligibility
Eligible for the WOMEN IN JAZZ – NEXT GENERATION VIRTUAL competition are all female jazz musicians with their bands who were born after April 25, 1990.
- The age of the musician who acts as the artistic director of the band project is decisive.
- Other band members are not subject to this age limit.
- Applicants must provide proof of residence in a European country.
Submission deadline
Applications must be submitted by Monday, March 2, 2026, midnight (CET) to the WOMEN IN JAZZ Festival: info@womeninjazz.de
Materials to submit
Applicants must send a live recording (video & audio) with a minimum length of 30 minutes and a maximum of 45 minutes to info@womeninjazz.de.
By submitting the concert recording, the WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL is granted the right to publish the recording free of charge on www.womeninjazz.de during the period from March 10 to May 19, 2025. This will be done via an embedded media player on the site (no upload to YouTube, Vimeo, or other video portals).
In addition to the recording, participants must submit:
- A written answer to:
“Why do you deserve the Jazz Prize of the City of Halle? What makes the band/formation special?” - The following information (German or English):
- Text suggestion for publication (max. 500 characters)
- Band name
- Names of the musicians with instruments
- Tracklist of the submitted project, indicating who arranged it
- A photo of the musician and/or the band project (300 dpi), rights cleared for use on:
- www.womeninjazz.de
- printed materials of WOMEN IN JAZZ gGmbH
- media releases
File transfer & format
Applications should be submitted via WeTransfer, Dropbox, or FTP link to info@womeninjazz.de.
- Format: MP4 or another H.264 codec
- Recommended resolution: at least 720p
Selection & presentation on the website
WOMEN IN JAZZ gGmbH is looking forward to applications from all over Europe. The artistic direction of the festival will select 20 jazz musicians from the applications as participants for the WOMEN IN JAZZ – NEXT GENERATION VIRTUAL competition.
WOMEN IN JAZZ gGmbH will publish an overview of the participating jazz projects on its website. For each project, the following information will be presented:
- Band name
- Participating artists
- Photo
- Tracklist
- Website
Online voting
Online voting will take place on the festival’s website. Users can cast up to three votes via a form.
- Multiple votes for a single project are not possible.
- After voting ends, the three projects with the highest number of votes will be published on www.womeninjazz.de and invited to the concert on May 5 in Halle.
- No further ranking results will be published.
Final concert & winner selection (May 5, 2026)
The audience vote on the concert day will take place via an online vote and accounts for 50% of the total score. The jury, consisting of four music experts, will decide on the remaining 50%. The final winner will be determined from the combined results.
The winner and her band will be invited to perform at a prizewinner’s concert at the 21st WOMEN IN JAZZ FESTIVAL on May 5, 2026. Participation in this concert is a mandatory condition for entering the NEXT GENERATION VIRTUAL WOMEN IN JAZZ competition.
This invitation includes a guaranteed concert fee of €750 per participating jazz musician, including travel expenses. For both the invitation and the number of musicians involved, the submitted band project is decisive. In the case of projects with a large number of musicians (e.g., choir projects), a maximum total fee of €3,750 will be awarded to all participants.
Prize payment details (as stated)
- The City of Halle Jazz Prize is endowed with €1,000 and will be awarded to the bandleader of the winning band.
- The bandleaders of the other participating jazz ensembles will each receive €500.
Don’t be shy, apply (here)!