Brentwood International Music Competition 2026: Life-changing opportunity for young musicians across the globe
Brentwood School proudly announces the launch of the 2026 Brentwood International Music Competition, a now annual event designed to attract and celebrate the world’s most talented young musicians. Following the successful inaugural year that saw applications from talented young musicians across the world, the competition is now an eagerly anticipated highlight in the School’s thriving Music Calendar.
The Brentwood International Music Competition offers exceptional young musicians worldwide a unique opportunity to showcase their talent, receive feedback from a panel of world-renowned adjudicators and compete for a range of prizes. Open to classical musicians aged 13 to 17, the competition is designed for those aspiring to pursue a future career in music.
The competition is known for providing life-changing opportunities for gifted students with the Grand Prize of a place at Brentwood School with means- tested funding up to 100% (£60,000 per year). Winning musicians may also be eligible for other prestigious awards, including scholarships, bursaries, masterclasses and monetary prizes. All finalists who join the School following the competition are automatically enrolled onto Brentwood’s trailblazing Specialist Music Programme, which allows talented musicians the unique opportunity to study at a specialist level within the wider context of a thriving holistic school.
The inaugural competition, which held its grand final in the Memorial Hall at Brentwood School in May, has already demonstrated its transformative potential with three exceptionally talented young musicians having subsequently joined the School this September. All three are already thriving at the School, performing in multiple recitals, concerts and as part of a range of Orchestras and Chamber music ensembles.
Grand Prize Winner Kate, a virtuoso violinist at the Junior Department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with whom Brentwood enjoys a wonderful partnership, joined the school’s Year 10 cohort having previously won top prizes for performances at festivals in Hong Kong, Ealing, and North London. Also enrolled onto the Specialist Music Programme are finalists Gabriela, 16, from Bolivia and highly commended entrant Revin, 16, from the UK, both of whom are exceptional violinists and academics.
Brentwood School is incredibly proud of its music programme and strives, unashamedly, to be known as the leading music school in the independent sector. At the heart of the school’s programme is an ethos that music is for every child and that excellence has to be balanced with inclusivity; as such, Brentwood School Music is a place of creativity, of nurture and exploration and above all a family, who support each other and have a great deal of fun in the process! The Brentwood International Music Competition forms a vital strand of the overall picture of musical education and excellence that is a beating heart of the School.
The selection process involves two stages: Online submissions, followed by an in-person live finale held in the Memorial Hall at Brentwood School on the 27th February, which includes feedback from a panel of world-renowned adjudicators and prize presentations, led by the Chairman of the competition, Lord Black of Brentwood, who also is Chair of the Board of Governors at the School and of the Royal College of Music.
All finalists who subsequently join Brentwood School are guaranteed enrollment on the Specialist Music Programme. Brentwood School, which has facilities including a newly-opened, state-of-the-art Boarding House, is one of only 25 All-Steinway Schools in the UK.
Aspiring musicians are urged to note the following crucial deadlines:
• Applications close: 5th January 2026
• Final round (in person): Friday 27th February 2026
Click here to find out more and apply.
