Lee Hanurij, a 20-year-old composer from South Korea, has been named as one of the three finalists for the Concours de Geneve Composition Competition 2026.
A student at the Korea National University of Arts, Lee has built an early international profile with performances at the Wittener Tage fur neue Kammermusik, the Verbier Festival, the Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival and Initiative Neue Musik OWL.
Lee was selected alongside Chen Sing-Yat, 24, of Hong Kong, and Rafael Marino Arcaro, 35, of Brazil, by a jury chaired by renowned composer Chin Unsuk. The announcement came as the competition recorded its highest-ever number of applications, with 188 composers from 46 countries, ranging in age from 9 to 39, vying for a place in the finals.
The three finalists' works will be performed in Geneva on Nov. 11 by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, under the baton of the three finalists of the concurrent 2026 Conducting Competition — a pairing the organization calls an absolute first in the world of international music competitions.
The Composition Competition rewards new works for symphony orchestra composed after March 2024. It is open to candidates born after Nov. 11, 1986. Applicants were required to compose a work of 12 to 16 minutes for a symphony orchestra of no fewer than 40 players, without soloists or electronic systems.
The three finalists will compete for a first prize of 15,000 Swiss francs ($18,900), a second prize of 10,000 Swiss francs and a third prize of 5,000 Swiss francs. Laureates also receive two years of services from Sartory Artists, a Paris-based concert agency, including career management, personal coaching and commissions.
Chin, who chairs the five-member jury, said the selection process was as demanding as it was exhilarating.
"All of the works submitted for this year's Composition Competition were of a very high standard," she said. "It was exciting to encounter such a range of compositional styles, but it also meant that selecting only three works for the finals was a demanding task.
"The three finalists all possess an impressive level of musical ideas, technical prowess and artistic personality. Moreover, the works represent completely different worlds, running a gamut of compositional styles and showcasing a very broad musical spectrum, which I'm sure will fascinate the audience at the final concert."
The Composition Prize jury also includes composers Toshio Hosokawa, Magnus Lindberg, Augusta Reed Thomas and Katharina Rosenberger.
Didier Schnorhk, secretary-general of the Concours de Geneve, said the combination of composition and conducting under one roof reflects the organization's mission to keep new music at the center of classical performance.
"Promoting new music is not merely a stance or a trend — it is both a demand and a necessity if we are to keep the art of music alive," Schnorhk said. "Bringing together composition and conducting within a single competition is a genuine innovation."
From May onward, the three composition finalists will collaborate with the six semifinalists of the Conducting Competition as part of the preparation leading up to the final round. The finalists will be in Geneva in September for workshops before returning Nov. 9 to attend rehearsals with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
This year's competition marks the Concours de Geneve's 80th anniversary and the return of the Conducting Competition for the first time since 1994, when Alan Gilbert won the top prize.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
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