"Abu Dhabi International Music Composition Competition" Announces the winners in its inaugural session

ABU DHABI, 6th JANUARY / WAM / Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, honorary founding patron of the Abu Dhabi Festival, and Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, wife of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, the Abu Dhabi Festival, the most prominent initiative organized by the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts, announced Daniele Gasparini as the winner. He won first place in the orchestra category for his composition “In the Air,” and Andrei Zubits won first place in the piano category for his composition “Overtures to Mirrors,” within the inaugural session of the Abu Dhabi International Music Composition Competition.

This prestigious competition, which was launched in May as the first music composition competition in the Middle East, will contribute to enhancing Abu Dhabi’s presence on the global stage as a UNESCO World City of Music and an incubator for musical innovation and creative excellence.

By launching a platform of this level of importance, the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts supports the emirate’s vision of charting the course of the development of contemporary music, empowering emerging talents, and preparing a new generation of international composers.

Her Excellency Hoda Ibrahim Al Khamis, founder of the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts, founder and artistic director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, said that, out of our belief in the status of arts and music as a global language of dialogue, and the role of creativity as a space for intellectual and knowledge meeting and cultural exchange, the Abu Dhabi International Music Composition Competition was launched as the first international music composition competition in the Middle East, in an effort to enhance Abu Dhabi’s influential presence as a global city of music, an incubator of innovation and a destination for creative excellence by honoring young composers and celebrating the works of Music composition.

She added that in its inaugural session in 2025, with more than 165 entries from 47 countries, the competition, in its two categories for orchestral compositions and solo piano works, provides the opportunity to highlight emerging voices in contemporary music, by supporting creative talents and promoting artistic innovation that contributes to shaping the future of music.

Her Excellency said that the competition embodies our commitment to supporting musical composers, documenting their innovative works within the “Music Composition and Documentation Platform” initiative of the Abu Dhabi Festival, and presenting them to local and international audiences.

The competition attracted more than 165 entries from 47 countries, which reflects the international interest and artistic diversity it achieved in its inaugural session, while the winners were chosen by a distinguished jury that includes an elite group of internationally known composers, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and committee chairman Du Yun, the innovative composer Shen Yi, the composer and conductor Elmar Lampson, the Kazakh composer Egerem Silova, and the composer and organist. International star Naji Hakim, and producer Robert Townson.

The committee awarded the award in recognition of the technical prowess, advanced style, and deep emotional dimension in the winning work. The committee also noted the good use of instruments, melodies and rhythms with traditional roots and their blending with multiple musical styles, while the entries were also subjected to an evaluation based on their ability to perform live, especially the extent of their clarity and strength when presented on stage by professional musicians.

For his part, Do Yuen, the composer and head of the jury, said that the jury expressed deep admiration for the breadth of visions and creative imagination that characterized the entries submitted in the inaugural session of the Abu Dhabi International Music Composition Competition. We also witnessed a rich and remarkable audio fabric, in which distinguished regional creativity interacted within a sophisticated global musical dialogue.

He added that this strong convergence between cultural depth and the comprehensive human dimension embodies the essence of what we aspired to discover, and also confirms the vital role played by this new platform on the global music scene.

He said that choosing from among this exceptional and diverse pool of talent was a great honor and an inspiring experience by all standards, and we are eagerly looking forward to hearing the voices that we celebrate today, and how they will contribute to shaping the future of music in the coming years.

Each of the first place winners received 130,000 dirhams, a professional recording opportunity, and a world premiere with partner orchestras of international standing during the twenty-third session of the Abu Dhabi Festival in April 2026.

The second-place winners, Nadeem Tarabai in the orchestra category for his composition Symphonyta in Ciprali, and Tariq Yamani in the piano category for his composition Dabke on Maqam Si Saba, also received a prize worth 50,000 dirhams, and the third-place winners, Thomas Cornell in the orchestra category for his composition Fear, Anger, Fire, and Bruno Vlahic in the piano category for his composition “Mirage Toccata,” received an amount of 25,000 dirhams.

The first winning compositions will also be professionally recorded as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival’s Musical Composition and Documentation Platform initiative.

This platform was established more than a decade and a half ago to support artists and composers from various countries of the world to present their works in Abu Dhabi and on the international scene. The platform contributed to the production of 36 original pieces and 80 joint works, which provided high-quality recordings that contribute to the preservation of traditional music and its contemporary developments.

Through initiatives such as the Abu Dhabi International Music Composition Competition, the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts seeks to empower emerging artists, musicians and creative professionals, and expand community participation in the arts at the state and regional levels.

The launch of this new platform is an extension of this vision, to support advanced creative expression and build an international network of contemporary composers. This trend also reinforces Abu Dhabi’s commitment to developing a vibrant cultural system, contributing to the sustainable cultural development of the emirate, and consolidating its growing role as an international center for artistic communication.

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