IX Concurso Internacional de Composición “María de Pablos”

The María de Pablos competition asks women composers for one new piece for solo viola — that is the entire brief for the ninth edition, and the instrumentation changes each year, so check the current call before you write anything. Works must run between five and fifteen minutes, be unpublished, never have been performed in public or broadcast on radio, television or the internet, and not have won another prize. Scores are read blind: your name cannot appear anywhere on the pages. It is open to women composers of any age and any nationality.

Entry costs €30, paid by bank transfer or card. You submit by email with the score as an A4 PDF (handwritten is accepted if it is clean), a copy of your ID or passport, a short CV and proof of payment. Entries close on 5 October 2026.

A jury selects three finalists in October. Those three works are then played at a public concert in Segovia on 30 January 2027, where the jury awards first prize (€1,500), second (€500) and third (€300), and the audience votes a separate €200 prize. Finalists have flights to Madrid and weekend accommodation in Segovia covered, but pay their own ground travel, and must supply a computer-set score within eight days of the shortlist. The rules are published in Spanish.