Epic Montreux Competition - with a jury led by Russell Brower

Hi everyone!

Next to my composing and conducting work, I am also the Music Director of Helvepic, a Swiss concert production company. One of our recent projects is the creation of the World of Warcraft: 20 Years of Music concert that is currently touring worldwide.

We're launching a new event called Epic Montreux, taking place in Switzerland on March 5–6, 2027, featuring music from 2WEI, and others, performed by a large symphony orchestra and choir and featuring singer Edda Hayes at the Auditorium Stravinski in Montreux (home of the Montreux Jazz Festival).

As part of the event, we're organizing an international composition competition.

Three composers will be selected to have their original music performed live by the orchestra and choir. The finalists will also get to work with a professional orchestrator to prepare their pieces for the concert and will be invited to Montreux, with accommodation, meals, local transportation for official activities, and travel covered (see the website for official details). At the concert, an overall winner will be declared, with a separate winner prize to be announced soon.

While the concert features a lot of trailer music, including some of the most iconic music for League of Legends cinematic, the competition will put a particular focus on storytelling, musicality, and originality. We want to hear pieces with a clear musical idea, a sense of journey, and genuine musical development.

The jury will be led by Russell Brower (Audio Director at CD Project Red), and will also include Ludwig Wicki (conductor), Alex Moukala (composer), Cédric Baravaglio (composer), 2WEI (composer collective), Alexandre Pican (choir director), and myself (composer and conductor).

A few practical details:

• Compose an original 4–5 minute orchestral or hybrid orchestral piece, with substantial use of the orchestra and choir.

• Submit an MP3 mockup. No written score is required for the competition.

• One entry per composer, open worldwide to composers aged 18+.

• No AI-generated music. Very important!

• Submission deadline: November 8, 2026.

• Three finalists announced December 16, 2026.

• Needless to say, the participants keep the copyright and ownership of their composition.

There is an entry fee of 40 CHF (currently a bit under 50 USD). I know entry fees for composition competitions are a point of discussion here. We've tried to keep the fee reasonable while offering something substantial to the finalists: professional orchestration, live performances with the full orchestra and choir, accommodation, meals and local transportation for the official activities, as well as support towards travel. in addition, an overall winner prize will be announced soon.

You can find the full details, instrumentation, artistic guidelines, rules, and submission form here:

https://epicmontreux.helvepic.com/international-composition-competition

I'm personally very excited about this project. Having spent a lot of time working with live orchestras, I know how valuable it can be for a composer to hear their music brought to life by real musicians. We hope to give three composers that opportunity while discovering some exciting new musical voices.

Happy to answer any questions here!