Winner of 15th International Composer's Competition NEW NOTE
Samobor, July 22nd 2026
15. International composer’s competition NEW NOTE – Croatia 2026
Members of the Jury: Berislav Šipuš, Sara Glojnarić, Monika Leskovar and Srećko Bradić evaluated all 54 submitted scores and decided the following:
Winner of 15th International composer’s competition NEW NOTE is:
XIAO HU (China): „LYRIC POETRY“ for Cello Octet
Excerpt from the Jury Report: “This is a composition of a very clear form, though of an interrupted flow with frequent stops and caesuras, as if the poet needed to take a breath before uttering the next stanza. This is music that moves slowly, at times very slowly, anchored in the tradition of Western European musical language and expression — which can be heard equally in the ‘searching’ for Melody and in the erecting of the pillars of Harmony, with excitements that are neither accidental nor ever excessive, but rather the result of the poet/composer’s patient and deliberate work with the fundamental thematic-motivic material, which is literally reduced to just a few intervals. Even when, in only a single stanza of this piece, the composer decides to suddenly and abruptly accelerate the sequence of his melodic and interval cells, this will only be in the service of reaching the highest point of tension in this musical work; and it is precisely at that peak that “lyricism” — that is, the powerful expressions of the artist’s experience of the World, his thoughts and his feelings — will experience its strongest flare-up in the form of a melodic apotheosis, which leads the voices of the instruments to daring heights, those where the composer’s voice can most loudly call out to the conscience of Man.”
Winning composition will be performed by Cello Octet led by Monika Leskovar at Samobor Music Festival on September 27th 2026.
Congratulations!
Jury
Our jury
Monika Leskovar
Sara Glojnarić
Srećko Bradić
Berislav Šipuš
Competition rules
Winner of 15th International Composer's Competition NEW NOTE announced
01 Competition Regulations
- The competition is open to composers of all ages and nationalities
- More than one score per composer is permitted
- All submitted works must have been composed after December 31st, 2019 and not awarded a prize in any other competition
- It is possible to submit works previously performed, but not already published or professionally recorded for commercial use
02 Genre
Composition for Cello Octet led by Monika Leskovar
Instrumentation:
- Eight (8) cellos
Use of tape or live electronics is permitted.
Duration: up to 15 minutes
03 Prize
The First Prize – 3 000€ (gross – including taxes) and the concert performance by Cello Octet on Samobor Music Festival in September 2026
04 Jury
MONIKA LESKOVAR, Artistic Director of the Cello Octet, partner of the 15th International Composer’s Competition NEW NOTE 2026
BERISLAV ŠIPUŠ, composer
SARA GLOJNARIĆ, composer
SREĆKO BRADIĆ, composer and Artistic Director of Samobor Music Festival
The decisions of the Jury are final. If the quality of admitted works does not meet the necessary level, the Jury reserves the right not to award the prize.
05 Prize winner's concert
- The winning composition will be performed in September 2026 by Cello Octet during the 51st Samobor Music Festival.
- The composer of the winning work must provide all the performance materials (parts) at his/her own expense and send them to the Samobor Music Festival by July 30th, 2026
- The winner of the Award will be announced after July 15th, 2026
- Entrants agree that, if the submitted work wins the award, all future performances of the work will be accompanied by the following statement in the printed program: “Winner of the 15th New Note International Composers’ Competition, Croatia 2026”. The same applies for all future published editions and/or recordings of the work.
- A copy of the finalist scores will be filed in the Samobor Music Festival records.
06 Entries
Entries by email only – to the following email: sgj@samobor.hr
The following items are required:
- The subject line should be “Submission – NEW NOTE – your name”
Attach all files below to your email:
- Score (PDF format) – with title “duration” and “nom de plume”, but your name must NOT appear on the score!
- Audio realization (MP3)
- CV: “nom de plume”, full name, address, date and place of birth, e-mail address, phone number
- biography suitable for a concert program, photo (500×500 px), a brief text about composition
If you receive email bounce backs due to large file sizes, you may break items into separate emails. Suggested size is up to 10 MB.
Send your email submission to the following mail: sgj@samobor.hr
Deadline for the Application form & all materials is 12:00 PM on June 30th 2026
ENTRY FEE
There is no entry fee!
CONTACT INFO
phone: +385 91 3360 112
email: sgj@samobor.hr