Luxembourg Composition Academy 2026: Open call
Apply now! From 14 to 20 November 2026, the Luxembourg Composition Academy offers young composers the opportunity to spend one week working in an inspiring and creative environment in the heart of Luxembourg. Faculty: Malika Kishino and George Lewis.
Undergraduate and (post)graduate composers are invited to apply for the Luxembourg Composition Academy, held from November 14 to 20, 2026 in Luxembourg with the faculty consisting of composers Malika Kishino and George Lewis as well as the Luxembourgish ensemble United Instruments of Lucilin.
Premiere your new piece at the rainy days Festival
The program consists of lectures, one-to-one lessons with Malika Kishino and George Lewis and workshops with the musicians of United Instruments of Lucilin, mezzo-sporano Rosie Middleton and conductor Julien Leroy. All selected composers are invited to write a new piece of 7 minutes for United Instruments of Lucilin. These new compositions will be premiered in the Academy’s final concert on November 20, 2026 at Philharmonie Luxembourg as part of the rainy days festival.
Faculty: Laura Bowler & George Lewis
Malika Kishino was born in 1971 in Kyoto as the daughter of a Buddhist priest, and has lived in Cologne since 2005. After studying law in her homeland, she studied composition and electronic music in France at the École Normale de Paris, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon, and IRCAM in Paris with Yoshihisa Taira, Robert Pascal and Philippe Leroux.
Winner of the Rome Prize 2024/25, Kishino creates ‘sound organisms’ as a composer, viewing her works as living beings with their own development. Her repertoire, which includes solo pieces, orchestral works, and more, consists of over 100 publications with SZ Sugar (Edizioni Suvini Zerboni).
George Lewis is an American composer, musicologist and trombonist. He is Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music at Columbia University, and Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a British Academy International Fellow, and a member of the Akademie der Künste Berlin, Lewis’s other honors include the Doris Duke Artist Award (2019), a MacArthur Fellowship (2002), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2015). A member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1971, Lewis’s work is presented by ensembles worldwide, published by Edition Peters. A Yamaha Artist, Lewis is widely regarded as a pioneer in the creation of computer programs that improvise in concert with human musicians.
How to apply ?
The academy will be taught in English.
The participation fee is 500€ and includes accommodation. Attendance to the rainy days festival (November 19 to 22) can be organized as well.
To apply for the academy, please submit by filling in the application form by 31 May 2026:
- a recent CV
- 2 scores (in PDF format) and recordings (if available)
- a short motivation letter
- a short letter of intent
Apply here
For further inquiries, please contact us at: hello@lucilin.lu
The selected composers will be notified at the beginning of July.
The Luxembourg Composition Academy is a cooperation between United Instruments of Lucilin and Philharmonie Luxembourg.