The Kendall National Violin Competition invites outstanding young Australian Composers (max. age 25 years on January 1 2024) to compete for its Watermark Composition Prize gifted to the competition by the Watermark Literary Society and remembering the competition’s late president Elaine van Kempen and the writer Eric Rolls.

The Watermark Composition Prize of $ 2500 will be awarded for a composition for Violin Solo or Violin and Piano of a maximum duration of seven minutes. The winning entry will feature as the competition’s compulsory Australian work in the final round of the competition in March 2025 and will be performed by all four finalists of the competition. The submitted work must not have been previously performed in public.

Terms and Conditions

Entries for the 2025 Watermark Composition Prize must be sent as a pdf file attachment in an email to the Artistic Director of the Kendall National Violin Competition (goetz.richter@sydney.edu.au). (subject line: 2025 Watermark Composition Prize Entry).

The attached pdf file of the composition itself should not contain the name of the composer or any information which would allow identification of the composer’s name. The pdf copy must be final and typeset or written in such a way that it will be useable for performance without further editorial revision.

The email itself must contain the name and contact details of the composer. An additional attachment must include a scanned copy of the competitor’s passport or birth-certificate to substantiate the age of the composer and residential status of the composer.

Only submissions from Australian citizens or residents will be accepted.

Closing Date
Entries for the 2025 Watermark Composition Prize must reach the competition by January 6 2025.

All entries will be blind reviewed by a panel of experts. The panel’s award of the 2025 Watermark Composition Prize will be final and not subject to further correspondence.The prize will be announced on January 13 2025.

By submitting their work for the 2025 Watermark Composition Prize the entrant agrees to the terms of the Watermark Composition Prize and in particular to the possible performance of the chosen work by the four finalists of the Kendall National Violin Competition in September 2025.

For further enquiries please contact Goetz Richter, Artistic Director – Kendall National Violin Competition (goetz.richter@sydney.edu.au)