Europasinfonie launches composition competition: a globally unique experiment in musical collaboration seeks new works 

Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, together with the Dresdner Sinfoniker, is pleased to announce the significant support received from the European Commission, through the Creative Europe programme, for the “Europasinfonie” project

On June 2027, Europasinfonie will offer audiences a new form of collaboration beyond the traditional concert hall. In a unique project, twelve symphony orchestras and choirs from across Europe will be brought together to form a single ensemble connected in real time. This is a powerful symbol for Europe and, at the same time, marks the dawn of a new era of artistic formats. An experiment under the motto Twelve countries. One orchestra.

At the heart of this visionary project is an international composition competition, which begins on 2 May 2026. The open call for entries is seeking works that artistically engage with the unique conditions of a distributed real-time performance, in which the participating ensembles are connected via a digital network. A large string orchestra will perform live in the concert hall, whilst all other sections will be present virtually on large LED screens.

Supporting European composers
An international jury will award a total of three composition commissions: two for orchestral works, and one for an orchestral work with choir. Composers from the 27 EU member states and other eligible countries may submit one 2-minute excerpt per category via   www.europasinfonie.eu from 2 May until 31 July 2026. The three selected composers will have the opportunity to create a 15–20-minute work for the Europasinfonie concert. Each composition commission comes with a fee of €14,000.

A key priority of Europasinfonie is to support young artists. We therefore particularly encourage composers under the age of 35 to submit their proposals. At least one of the three commissions will be awarded to a representative of this age group, although there are no age restrictions.
The jury meeting will take place on 28 and 29 September 2026 in Dresden, Germany. The three selected composers will be announced at a press conference on 30 September 2026 at the Dresden Exhibition Centre.

Andrea Molino