The 2012 Radio 3/NCEM Young Composers Award was launched on Sunday 15th January 2012. This year’s competition is given in partnership with The Tallis Scholars – click on the link on this page for further details.

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The first NCEM Instrumental Composers Award, presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3 and the internationally acclaimed viol consort Fretwork, was won by Bertie Baigent (16) and Sarah Gait (17) in the under 18 years category, and by Chris Roberts (22) in the 19 to 25 years category.

The winners of this prestigious new Instrumental Composers Award were announced at a special finalists’ public concert on Tuesday 25 October at All Saints Church, North Street, York, where all seven shortlisted works were performed by Fretwork.
The winning pieces – ‘In Memoriam In Nomine’ by Bertie Baigent, ‘Death-Fires’ by Sarah Gait and ‘my o'erflowing teares’ by Chris Roberts were premièred in a concert given by Fretwork on Wednesday 21 December 2011 at Kings Place, London. This concert was recorded by BBC Radio 3 and was broadcast on The Early Music Show at 1.00pm on Sunday 15 January 2012.

"Richard Campbell, founder member of Fretwork died during the preparations for this competition. He can be heard on the BBC recording giving cogent and useful information about how to write for viols; and, indeed, he had always been an enthusiastic subscriber to the project of commissioning and playing new music for viols. His intelligence and musicianship will be greatly missed." (Richard Boothby - Fretwork)