Young Composers Awards winners Kat Farn, left, Laura Kesiak and Edward Tait. Picture: Ben Pugh
KAT Farn, Edward Tait and Laura Kesiak have won the 19th National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Awards.
Presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3, the final took place on Thursday at the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
Kat Farn and Edward Tait were joint winners of the 19 to 25 years category with LABYRINTH and My Troubled Sense Doth Move respectively; Laura Kesiak’s In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn received the prize in the 18 years and under category.
Edward Tait: Composer of My Troubled Sense Doth Move. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
The NCEM and BBC Radio 3 invited aspiring young composers to compose a new song setting for soprano, cornett and keyboard, to be performed by The Gonzaga Band (Jamie Savan, cornett, Faye Newton, soprano, and Steven Devine, keyboard), who are renowned for innovative programming underpinned by cutting-edge research.
The composers took inspiration from the experimental and innovative music of Claudio Monteverdi and his contemporaries, evoked in The Gonzaga Band’s recital programme Love’s Labyrinth, released on the Deux-Elles label in July 2025.
The song setting explored the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments, setting a poem by Lady Mary Wroth, a contemporary of Shakespeare.
Kat Farn: Composer of LABYRINTH. Picture: Ben Pugh
The eight young finalists took part in a day of workshops at the NCEM, where the sessions were led by composer Professor Christopher Fox, honorary professor of music at the University of York, and The Gonzaga Band, who then performed the pieces in a public performance.
The concert was live-streamed and is available to view on the NCEM Young Composers Award website at https://www.youngcomposersaward.co.uk/
The shortlisted composers and pieces in the 19 to 25 category were: Kat Farn, LABYRINTH, Edward Tait, My Troubled Sense Doth Move, and Sequoia Ralph, In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn?
Laura Kesiak: Composer of In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
In the 18 and under category, the finalists were: Heath Thompson, HOW SHALL I TURN?; Ben Hadland, In This Strange Labyrinth; Laura Kesiak, In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn; Ernest Chui, In This STRANGE Labyrinth How Shall I Turn???, and Alma Nunez Debretzeni, In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn?
The 2026 panel of judges were: BBC Radio 3 producer Les Pratt, NCEM director Delma Tomlin and The Gonzaga Band’s Faye Newton.
Farn’s LABYRINTH, Tait’s My Troubled Sense Doth Move and Kesiak’s In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn will be premiered by The Gonzaga Band at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Tuesday, October 27, when the lunchtime concert will be recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.
National Centre for Early Music director and Young Composers Awards judge Delma Tomlin
Delma Tomlin said: “The Young Composers Award is one of the most important elements of our work here at the NCEM and is recognised as an important stepping stone in the composers’ careers. The finalists spent an intensive day in York working on their compositions and sharing ideas with fellow participants before having the chance to hear their music performed on stage.
“It was wonderful to enjoy such an array of outstanding music, and my congratulations go to Kat Farn, Edward Tait and Laura Kesiak. It has been a pleasure to join forces with The Gonzaga Band, and I’d also like to say a huge thank-you to Dr Christopher Fox, my fellow judges and BBC Radio 3, who will be recording Kat, Edward and Laura’s pieces at their premiere in Birmingham for broadcast later this year.”
Les Pratt said: “BBC Radio 3 has been in partnership with our colleagues at the National Centre for Early Music for nearly 20 years now, supporting this award. As the home of classical music, nurturing young talent is one of our core missions, as well as encouraging audiences to discover the latest creations.
The Gonzaga Band soprano and Young Composers Awards judge Faye Newton
Giving a voice to young composers is so important for classical music, enabling the art form to always stay fresh, reflect present trends and look to the future. We’re very much looking forward to sharing these exciting new compositions with listeners on the Early Music Show.”
The Gonzaga Band said: “It has been such a joy to be the collaborating ensemble for the 2026 competition. The young composers have done such a brilliant job that we have eight wonderfully varied and imaginative pieces in the final, any and all of which we’d be delighted to perform in our future recitals.”
The Young Composers Award is open to young composers resident in the UK up to and including the age of 25. The 2027 edition will be announced in late-autumn.