This year’s YMS Composition Competition celebrates 50 years of YMS UK. The first YMS location in the UK opened in 1976.
To celebrate this, we have selected 9 genres that have appeared in the last 50 years. All you have to do is compose a piece of music, or song, in that genre style. The composition can be instrumental, or have lyrics. It can be performed as a soloist, duo, or band. The choice is yours!
You must be under the age of 19 and currently enrolled on a Yamaha Music School course in the UK or Ireland to enter. All entries must be an original composition/song. The composition can be of any time length. Music software can be used, but you must be able to perform the piece “live”.
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
A-ha
Donna Summer
Chic
Bee Gees
Mötley Crüe
Poison
Def Leppard
Oasis
Blur
Pulp
Run-DMC
Notorious B.I.G.
Kendrick Lamar
BTS
BLACKPINK
EXO
Britney Spears
Backstreet Boys
Justin Bieber
Taylor Swift (post-2008 era)
Luke Combs
Kacey Musgraves
Tool
Muse
Porcupine Tree
Artists listed are for guidance only
To enter, complete the online entry form below, including your audio recording upload and a brief description of your piece and why you chose the genre. (Entries must be received by Tuesday 30th June 2026)
The competition will be judged by Oliver Dixon (YMS UK Business Development Manager) alongside guest judge, renowned composer - Neil Brand, and Thomas Hewitt Jones. The judges will be looking for, structure, creativity and a solid performance in your chosen genre.
Neil Brand is an acclaimed silent film accompanist who has performed worldwide for 40 years, including inaugurating the 'School of Music and Image' in Pordenone, Italy, to teach young pianists; he is also a prolific composer, writer, and performer across film, radio, and television, where he hosts BBC4 series on music in cinema, theatre and TV.
His work includes a powerful adaptation of Hound of The Baskervilles - performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra on Christmas Day '23 Watch here, and A Christmas Carol for Orchestra, Choir and Actors commissioned by Radios 3 and 4. Neil is a regular broadcaster on Radio 4 and hosts the critically-acclaimed podcast All About the Music. (www.allaboutthemusicpod.com)
Both a Fellow of Aberystwyth University and a Visiting Professor of the Royal Academy of Music, Neil is considered one of the finest improvising piano accompanists in the world.
Thomas Hewitt Jones is an award-winning composer, music producer and songwriter. Since winning the BBC Young Composer Competition in his teens, his music has been published by many of the major music publishers and is frequently heard in concert and on radio, TV and in the cinema. Thomas’s diverse catalogue includes small instrumental, orchestral, choral and ballet works, and his large number of choral titles includes seasonal carols. His music is regularly featured on Classic FM. Large-scale works include the Christmas cantata Incarnation, released on Regent Records, and Panathenaia - a Symphony in Stone, which received a premiere in acclaimed violinist Hugo Ticciati’s O/Modernt festival in Stockholm, followed by a UK premiere in the British Museum; both works have libretti by writer Paul Williamson. He has written a musical version of ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ with lyrics and book by Matt Harvey, which enjoyed four productions having been launched at the Theatre Royal, Bath.
• Overall winner will be invited to a studio recording session with Thomas Hewitt Jones, plus a video recording, a copy of Dorico Pro (Education), plus £500 to spend at Yamaha Music London.
• 2nd Prize - a copy of Dorico Elements (Education) plus £300 to spend at Yamaha Music London.
• 3rd Prize - a copy of Dorico Elements (Education) plus £150 to spend at Yamaha Music London.
• Prize for the teacher of the overall winner gets £200 to spend at Yamaha Music London.
N.B Please note that if a duo or band enters, the prize is to be shared amongst that entrant, and only 1 copy of Dorico software will be awarded. Prize money at Yamaha Music London can be spent online or instore.
