ABOUT THE COMPETITION
St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra presents the sixth International St. Christopher Composer Competition. The aims of the competition are to discover talented music creators, establish creative relationships with them, contribute to the successful careers of young composers by professionally performing their music, initiate the creation of new works for chamber orchestra, and promote their dissemination.
The finalists’ works will be performed by the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra on October 11, 2026, at the official laureates’ concert of the International St. Christopher Composer Competition at Vilnius Town Hall. The concert may be recorded and published online. The winning works will also be performed in the orchestra’s 2026–2027 season concerts.
ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA
The Vilnius City Municipal St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, whose Artistic Director and Chief Conductor is Modestas Barkauskas and Honorary Conductor is Donatas Katkus, is renowned for its versatility, professionalism, and artistic imagination. The orchestra is a welcome guest in the most famous concert halls in Lithuania and abroad. The St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra stands out for its exceptional stylistic versatility: having earned the reputation of a “baroque orchestra” and a reviver of rare scores, the orchestra is also recognized by critics as an interpreter of contemporary music. It is also one of the ensembles that performs the greatest number of premiere works by Lithuanian and foreign composers in Lithuania.
COMPETITION CONDITIONS
Composers aged 18 to 40 are invited to participate in the competition.
Preferred duration of works – 5–10 minutes.
Instrumentation – string orchestra (6 – I violins, 5 – II violins, 3 – violas, 3 – cellos, 1 – double bass).
Both unpublished works and works performed in 2024–2026 may be submitted to the competition. Works that have participated in other competitions are not eligible.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS
One participant may submit no more than 3 works.
Scores (full score and parts) must be submitted in PDF format, without indicating the composer’s name and surname in the score. A demo recording of the work in MP3 format must be included. A separate Word document must be attached, indicating the author’s name, surname, email address, phone number, CV, and a description of the work. Scores (full score and parts), annotation, CV (Word document), and MP3 must be sent by email to competition@kristoforas.lt
COMPETITION PROCEDURE
Registration to participate in the competition – until 2026.06.30
📢 Participation is free – there is no registration fee!
Deadline for submission of works – 2026.08.31
Announcement of works selected by the jury – 2026.10.02
Performance of laureates’ works at the concert – 2026.10.09
COMPETITION PRIZES:
I place – 1500 Eur
II place – 900 Eur
III place – 600 Eur
The monetary prizes are established by Vilnius Club
Special LMIC prize
Special orchestra prize
EVALUATION
The works are evaluated by a competent jury of composers and music performers.
The evaluation of works is carried out anonymously.
The competition jury may refuse to evaluate works that do not meet the requirements or are submitted too late according to the established deadlines.
The jury’s decision is final and not subject to appeal.
Information about the competition is published on the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra website https://www.kristoforas.lt/ and on social networks Facebook and Instagram.
COMPETITION SPONSORS:
