The 2026 Competition opens for submissions on 1st November 2025.
The contest guidelines are as follows (please read with care as these will be strictly adhered to).
Qualifications for submission
* Only one submission per composer is allowed.
* The contest is open to composers of forty years of age and over by the submission date (i.e. born before 1985), of any nationality, but must be resident in the U.K.
* Open to any gender or identification.
* The work must be for the full ensemble (no doublings);
Flute or piccolo
Bb Clarinet or Bass Clarinet
Piano
1 Vibraphone performer
Violin
Viola
Cello
* The work must be between 8 and 10 minutes in length; complete works only. Works outside the duration parameters will not be considered though the judges will use their own discernment on this matter if needs be.
* The work can be of any style or aesthetic direction. Electronics not allowed.
* The work may have been performed previously but must have been written after 2020.
* The work must not have received an award previously.
* The submissions must be anonymous (score and audio files should have no references at all to the composer’s identity - please note Dropbox files often bear the sender’s name).
* The winning composer must arrange to travel to London for the performance at their own expense.
* The Rosalie Coopman Music Foundation reserves the right to give no award if in the opinion of the judges the required expectations have not been met. The decision will be final and the Foundation will not engage in correspondence or produce commentary on individual works.
Application procedure:
The following materials are required for submission (all materials are to be submitted electronically):
Please write the following in the body of the email
* Name
* Email address
* Phone number
* Home address
* Title of submitted work
* Instrumentation
* Duration
* Proof of identity (passport scan, driving license etc. You may if you wish redact Passport, or licence numbers except date of birth).
Attach a pdf of the score using the following file name: TITLE_INITIALS_DOB (DD/MM/YYYY) [parts to be followed shortly after upon request].
Link to sound file mp3 format (MIDI recording acceptable): TITLE_INITIALS_DOB (date of birth DD/MM/YYYY) Please ensure that the link you provide is accessible to anyone with the link. There are several readers for this competition, and so the link must be accessible to anyone with it. Submissions whose links are not accessible will not be accepted.
Please ensure you name DOES NOT appear on the linked file i.e. your Soundcloud name or Dropbox sender.
Attach a second pdf with the following information
* Short biography
* Comments or program note of the submitted work (max. 100 words)
* Declaration the work has not received an award previously
* Good quality portrait photo
Email the submission to 40plus@trinitylaban.ac.uk (submissions sent directly to the Rosalie Coopman Foundation or Trinity Laban will not be accepted)
There is no application fee
The closing date for submissions is 12.00pm 1st March 2026. Our panel of judges, consisting of professional musicians and composers, will review the entries; the winning composer and honorary mentions will be announced shortly after 1st April 2026. Their pieces will be performed in concert at Trinity Laban in the summer 2026.
Urgent queries regarding the guidelines need the word ‘Query’ on the subject heading, to 40plus@trinitylaban.ac.uk