Cambridge University Schola Cantorum
Carol Composition Competition 2026

We are excited to announce the return of our annual carol composition competition. The winning carol will be performed in our carol services in Great St Mary’s, Cambridge and Temple Church, City of London in December 2026, and the winning composer will receive a prize of £250.

 What are we looking for?  

Your carol should be…

…a setting of a text connected to the Christmas season: this may be an existing or a newly written one, but composers are responsible for securing the permission of the copyright holder where applicable; for texts in languages other than English a full translation should be included in the front matter of the score (and where necessary, a transliteration in the score itself);
…scored for SATB choir, either a cappella or with organ accompaniment; some divisi is fine;
…1-3 minutes in duration;
…feasible to rehearse and perform as part of the choir’s full schedule (beyond this requirement for a pragmatic approach and the stipulated scoring, all musical styles are welcomed).

Who can enter? 

The competition is open to all current staff and students of the University of Cambridge & Anglia Ruskin University. 

How do I apply?

Email a score in PDF format to assistant@cambridgeschola.com

Entries should be anonymised

Scores should be emailed from an email address ending in cam.ac.uk or aru.ac.uk

Deadline for entries: Sunday 1st November 2026

Entries will be adjudicated by the Director of Cambridge Schola, Graham Walker and our Composer-in-Residence, Tim Watts

Prizes 

The winning carol will be performed at Schola’s 2026 Christmas services at Great St Mary’s, Cambridge on 1st December and at Temple Church, City of London on 15th December 2026 

The winning composer will receive a cash prize of £250