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Claussen Simon Composition Prize
Timeline
Submission period
Thu Jan 9 at 05AM UTC
End of submission period
Thu Mar 20 at 10:59PM UTC
Results date
Mon Jun 30 at 04PM UTCRestrictions
Upper age limit: 35 (born in 1989)
The Claussen Simon Foundation awards, for the third time, a composition prize to a young composer in cooperation with the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. The composition prize is awarded in the form of a commissioned work for orchestra. The orchestral piece will be premiered in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall as part of the »Elbphilharmonie Visions« festival in February 2027, with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra performing under the direction of Alan Gilbert.
The objective of the composition prize is to allow a young composer to have a work for full orchestra performed in a high-profile setting, while also providing creative and organisational support over the course of the composition process. Through the collaboration between the three renowned institutions, the successful composer will secure extensive funding, gain valuable experience and receive active support as they seek to establish themselves as a professional composer. A core element of the composition process is direct exchange with key figures from the orchestra, concert hall and foundation.
The composition award comes with a financial prize of €15,000.
Terms
-Upper age limit: 35 (born in 1989)
-By 20 March 2025, applicants must submit a concept sketch of an orchestral score in musical notation (min. 3 minutes) as well as a description in words of the work they intend to create as part of the composition prize.
-Compositions that have already been published or (partially) performed are not allowed to be submitted.
-In order to ensure that personal information does not influence the selection of the finalists, applications will be anonymised before they are passed on to the jury.
-In the initial preselection round, candidates will be chosen to take part in a reading session with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Alan Gilbert in autumn 2025. Upon request, the candidate must be able to provide all the individual instrumental parts of the sketch submitted in the application before the reading session.
-Selected candidates must be present at the reading session in autumn 2025.
-The jury will select the award winner following the reading session.
-The award winner will receive a commission for a 15-minute orchestral work. This commissioned piece is to be composed as a purely orchestral work without soloists, without singing voices and without electronics.
-The submission deadline for the score and parts of the commissioned work is autumn 2026. The work will be premiered in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall in February 2027 as part of the »Elbphilharmonie Visions« festival.
-The premiere rights for the work that is to be composed is held by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, while all other rights remain with the composer.
Details are available at web pages:
https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/claussen-simon-composition-prize
The objective of the composition prize is to allow a young composer to have a work for full orchestra performed in a high-profile setting, while also providing creative and organisational support over the course of the composition process. Through the collaboration between the three renowned institutions, the successful composer will secure extensive funding, gain valuable experience and receive active support as they seek to establish themselves as a professional composer. A core element of the composition process is direct exchange with key figures from the orchestra, concert hall and foundation.
The composition award comes with a financial prize of €15,000.
Terms
-Upper age limit: 35 (born in 1989)
-By 20 March 2025, applicants must submit a concept sketch of an orchestral score in musical notation (min. 3 minutes) as well as a description in words of the work they intend to create as part of the composition prize.
-Compositions that have already been published or (partially) performed are not allowed to be submitted.
-In order to ensure that personal information does not influence the selection of the finalists, applications will be anonymised before they are passed on to the jury.
-In the initial preselection round, candidates will be chosen to take part in a reading session with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Alan Gilbert in autumn 2025. Upon request, the candidate must be able to provide all the individual instrumental parts of the sketch submitted in the application before the reading session.
-Selected candidates must be present at the reading session in autumn 2025.
-The jury will select the award winner following the reading session.
-The award winner will receive a commission for a 15-minute orchestral work. This commissioned piece is to be composed as a purely orchestral work without soloists, without singing voices and without electronics.
-The submission deadline for the score and parts of the commissioned work is autumn 2026. The work will be premiered in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall in February 2027 as part of the »Elbphilharmonie Visions« festival.
-The premiere rights for the work that is to be composed is held by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, while all other rights remain with the composer.
Details are available at web pages:
https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/claussen-simon-composition-prize
