Young Composers Competition

For years, the NBE’s Young Composers Competition has been the place to be for young composers who want to pursue music making. Under the motto ‘anything goes, as long as you make it up yourself’, thousands of young people have already been encouraged to compose their own music. The competition proves to be a springboard for many a serious composing talent and produces brilliant compositions every year. The winners will be on stage with the NBE at the New Year’s concert on 1 January in The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as the final piece of a fantastic and educational journey about composing.

JOIN

Would you like to continue making your own music and are you up to 18 years old? Then enter the NBE Composition Competition! Whether you sing, rap, make beats or compose on your instrument – anything goes, as long as you make it up yourself. During the Composition Competition you will receive guidance from experienced composers and arrangers, meet other young musicians, gain stage experience and have your work performed by top musicians.

You can find up-to-date information about the competition here.

The jong Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, jongNBE for short, is an ensemble of young talented musicians from the Dutch conservatoires, some already finished, others still in the middle of their training. The ensemble consists of 10 musicians (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, saxophone, (bass) trombone, percussion and double bass/bass guitar) and is coached by experienced musicians of the NBE. They can be part of the jongNBE for two years. Playing in the jongNBE offers young musicians a fantastic learning path in ensemble playing, programming and presentation. The jongNBE forms the breeding ground of the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble.

The jongNBE accompanies young composers during the showcases of the NBE Young Composers Competition and plays its own programmes throughout the Netherlands. Amongst others, jongNBE has performed at the Grachtenfestival, at Vroege Vogels in Park de Hoge Veluwe, during lunch concerts in Het Concertgebouw, at the Uitmarkt, at Opium on NPO Radio4, during the Oranjewoud Festival, at the World Hockey Championships, at the Cello Biennale and in the Holland Opera productions at Fort Rijnauwen.

Throughout the country, there are regional young wind ensembles for musicians between 15 and 20 years old: jongNBEnoord, jongNBEoost and jongNBEwest. These ensembles consist of 10 advanced amateurs or beginning conservatoire students from the region. Their ambition is to make music together at a high level and in an exciting way. Besides playing a broad repertoire of music, they are taught a lot in terms of presentation and communication while making music.

Together and under the guidance of an NBE musician, they work towards a beautiful concert together with the NBE, in the local area. Auditions are held every season. Interested in playing along? Let us know via meespelen@nbe.nl.