Young composers’ competition
On the way to the New Year’s Concert

The annual “On the way to the New Year’s Concert” young composers’ competition, open to talent aged 18 and younger, has proved its success time and again. What could be better than creating your own music and then performing it together with world-class musicians in a packed concert hall? The NBE annually receives submissions from dozens of young composers, and the competition has served as a springboard for some heavyweight talent in the Netherlands.

On New Year’s Day, the competition’s winners perform their works together with the NBE at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw – a performance that will undoubtedly be spectacular. The process leading up to the New Year’s Day concert is long and protracted: after preliminary concerts – which more often than not are spectacular – with jongNBE (the ensemble’s youth division), 24 winners team up with experienced arrangers to arrange their work for the ‘grown-up’ NBE. At the festive (and exciting) composers weekend in December they will perform their piece together with the NBE. Who will go on to the Finals and who will end up creating the winning composition to be performed at the New Year’s Day Concert?

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

Established several years ago, the jongNBE is an ensemble comprised of the best Dutch and foreign students enrolled at music convervatories in the Netherlands who have the opportunity to be part of the young Netherlands Wind Ensemble, known as ‘jongNBE’, for a 2-year period. The ensemble, which includes 10 musicians (flute, hobo, clarinet, bassoon, french horn, trumpet, saxophone, trombone/bass trombone, percussion and double bass/bass), is coached by experienced musicians from the NBE. Playing in the jongNBE offers young musicians a fantastic learning path in ensemble playing, programming and presentation. The jongNBE is the breeding ground of the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble.

The jongNBE accompanies young composers during the showcases of the young composers’ competition “On the way to the New Year’s Concert” and plays its own programmes throughout the Netherlands. Amongst others, the jongNBE performed during the Grachtenfestival, in Ramses’ Night at the DeLaMar Theatre, at Vroege Vogels in Park de Hoge Veluwe, during the lunch concerts in Het Concertgebouw, played at the Uitmarkt, at Opium on NPO Radio4, during the Oranjewoud Festival, at the Hockey World Cup, at the Cello Biennale and in the Holland Opera productions The Day After and STYX at Fort Rijnauwen.

Photo: Amanda Malia