International Percussion Competition

19 - 27 September 2026 | Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Introduction

A renewed format for a new generation.

After many successful editions, we are proud to present a completely renewed structure for the TROMP International Percussion Competition.

In close dialogue with teachers, programmers, artistic leaders and performers across the globe, we asked a simple question:

What does it mean to be a solo percussionist today?

The result is a format that encourages artistic risk, embraces diverse repertoire, and celebrates personality and creative identity. TROMP has always been future-minded, and in Eindhoven, a city known for technology and innovation, we continue that legacy.

Key Rules

The TROMP International Percussion Competition is open to professional percussionists worldwide who have completed — or are in the final phase of — their professional training.

We are looking for soloists who:

  • demonstrate exceptional technical mastery

  • show artistic vision, originality and presence

  • present themselves as complete, creative artists

  • are between 18 and 35 years old on the starting date of the competition (19 September 2026)

10 candidates will be selected to perform live in Eindhoven from 19–27 September 2026.

This marks the 16th edition of the solo percussion competition, which has been at the heart of TROMP since 1971.

Find the complete information about the TROMP International Percussion competition in our
Rules and Regulations.

Repertoire

PRELIMINARY ROUND - Online

Applicants must submit the following:

  • a live video recording of

    • one piece from the curated list (see Round 2)

    • one freely chosen work (max. 10 minutes)

  • a proposed program for the live rounds in Eindhoven

  • optional: an artistic justification of the selected works. If included, the jury will consider this in their evaluation. Submitted in form of a text (maximum 3 pages) or video (maximum 7 minutes) via MUVAC

A selection committee selects 30 candidates based on artistic potential, craftsmanship, and vision.

  • Top 10 are invited to compete in Eindhoven

  • Ranked 11–30 receive a free entrance ticket to the TROMP Academy (see FAQ)

ROUND 1 “CURRENT PULSE” – Black Box - CKE Eindhoven -
Sunday 20th of September

Each participant presents

  • 30-minute personal portrait in a Black Box setting

    • complete artistic freedom in repertoire, instrumentation, form, and presentation

    • participants may include multimedia, electronics, improvisation, or interdisciplinary elements

The venue provides a sound installation, stage lights and one beamer.
(see Theaterzaal and Zaal met uitschruifbare tribune)

ROUND 2 “FACETS OF PERCUSSION” – Recital Hall, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven - Tuesday 22nd of September

festival-style evening concert featuring all ten participants. Each participant prepares 

  • two works from the curated list (approx. 14 minutes in total)

  • only one of the two works will be performed, selected by the TROMP artistic team (communicated two weeks prior).

  • the curated list:

    • Aperghis, Georges - Le corps à corps

    • Akiho, Andy - Cartograph

    • Cuong, Viet - Well Groomed

    • Dessner, Bryce - Tromp Miniature

    • Druckman, Jacob - Reflections on the nature of water *

    • Fujikura, Dai - Chirping Birds

    • Henderickx, Wim - 1001 Nights

    • Huber, Nicolaus A. - Clash Music

    • Kishino, Malika - Fragrant Wood

    • Lang, David - The Anvil Chorus

    • Lang, David - Miracle Ear

    • Lim, Liza - Love Letter

    • Lobowitz, René - Trois Caprices

    • Manoury, Philippe - Le Livre des Claviers, IV

    • Marinissen, Arnold - Totem

    • Maresz, Yan - Étude d’impacts

    • Matalon, Martin - Trace XVII

    • Matalon, Martin - Short Stories

    • Mérigaux, Théo - Tambour de Pan *

    • Neuwirth, Olga - Coronation I: Io son ferito ahime

    • Omelchuck, Oxana - Staahaadler Aff‘

    • Saariaho, Kaija - Six Japanese Gardens *

    • Saunders, Rebecca - Dust *

    • Sartorius, Julian - RLLRLRRLL (Solo Version)

    • Seo, Juri - V

    • Stockhausen, Karlheinz - Vibra-Elufa

    • Wallin, Rolf - Realismos Mágicos *

      * These works are longer than 10 minutes. Participants may select a maximum of 10 minutes of music. Please note that it is the participant’s own responsibility to obtain permission from the composer or publisher for any such selection.

The evening includes a public reception, intermissions, and contextual introductions.  

ROUND 3 “POSTCARDS TO THE FUTURE” - Pitch & Performance ("Talk meets Recital") – DomusDela Eindhoven -
Wednesday 23rd of September

Each participant presents

  • a 20-minute recital (acoustic works only), consisting of:

    • mandatory commissioned work

    • a curated solo program built around that work

  • pre-recorded video pitch (jury only), presenting a vision for how the theme could develop into a full-length concert or installation. This video will only be used by the jury during the selection process. The video will not be screened at the competition.

    • max. 10 minutes

    • format is fully open – e.g.: a direct-to-camera spoken pitch, a narrated visual presentation, a creative video production, a concept film with projected imagery and sound

    • judged on conceptual clarity and artistic strength, not production quality

    • you may speak in your native language, but if you do, please include English subtitles

You will receive the mandatory commissioned work beginning of April 2026.

The pre-recorded video pitch only needs to be uploaded by the selected participants. The deadline is on 1st of September 2026.

After Round 3, a selection takes place. Three candidates will be selected to present themselves in the Final round.

FINAL – with Het Muziek – Recital Hall, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven -
Sunday 27th of September

The three finalists perform a recital in collaboration with Het Muziek conducted by César Ramos.

Rehearsals take place Thursday–Saturday, 24-26 September, working with:

  • a composer of a fixed-score work (8–10 minutes), selected by TROMP

  • a composer of a “roadmap score” – an open structure co-created with the soloist and ensemble

  • visual artist

Each finalist presents a 35-minute program including:

  • the fixed-score (mandatory), selected by TROMP

  • the roadmap piece (mandatory)

  • additional solo or chamber works (optional)

    • chamber parts should be easily rehearsable: think soundscapes, melodic fragments, or basic accompaniments.

    • the ensemble will only be informed of the three finalists one day before the first rehearsal (on Thursday). This means there is very limited time for the musicians to prepare. Therefore, we ask you to take this into account when designing your final program:

      • please ensure that any ensemble parts you propose are feasible to rehearse and perform within a short time frame

      • avoid complex or highly virtuosic ensemble writing

      • simpler ideas such as a soundscape, a single-line melody, or a clear accompaniment (e.g. flute with percussion, or ambient textures) are very welcome.

      • Available instrumentation:

        • Flute (Ossia: piccolo, alto flute, bass flute)

        • Oboe (Ossia: English horn)

        • Clarinet in B-flat (Ossia: contrabass clarinet)

        • Trumpet (mutes: wa-wa, straight)

        • Tenor Trombone with F attachment (mutes: wa-wa, straight, plunger)

        • Violin

        • Viola

        • Violoncello

    • the jury will consider the feasibility of your proposed program as part of their evaluation in earlier rounds.

You will receive the fixed-score work on 15th of August 2026.

The final serves as the festival’s closing concert, with jury, press, public, and network partners in attendance.

Jury

We are proud to present the jury for the TROMP International Percussion Competition 2026! Bringing together artists from Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa, the jury reflects the global scope of contemporary percussion and a wide range of perspectives across composition, performance, education, and programming. 

The TROMP International Percussion Competition consists of: 

  • Arnold Marinissen (Chairman) – composer and percussionist; head of composition, classical voice & master research at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam 

  • Vassilena Serafimova (Bulgaria) – third prize TROMP 2010; artistic director of Les Percussions de Strasbourg; professor in Lausanne 

  • Mike Truesdell (USA) – second prize TROMP 2010; associate professor of Music performance at Ithaca College 

  • Johannes Fischer (Germany) – first prize ARD 2007; professor at Lübeck University of Music 

  • Malika Kishino (Japan) – composer commissioned to write the final work for the 2026 edition of the TROMP International Percussion Competition 

  • Karim Ziad (Algeria) – percussionist, drummer, and composer blending North African rhythms with jazz and world music; artistic director of the Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira 

  • Alexandre Esperet (France) – first prize TROMP 2012; assistant teacher at the CNSMD Lyon; member of Trio SR9

Festival experience & prizes

All participants invited to Eindhoven will receive free access to all TROMP Festival concerts, as members of our audience.
At TROMP Festival 2026, you’ll have the opportunity to meet and be inspired by some of the world’s leading percussionists — both performers and fellow students.

PRIZES

There are four prizes that can be won in this competition. Only the competition finalists qualify for the three ranking prizes. All 10 competitors qualify for the Friends of TROMP Audience Award.

The three ranking prizes will be awarded by decision of the competition jury and will be publicly announced immediately after the competition finale on Sunday September 27th, 2026.

1. First Prize

  • A total prize sum of €15,000 will be awarded. Of this, €8,000 is reserved for the development of a personal artistic project in collaboration with the TROMP Team, to be presented at a future edition of the TROMP Festival.

  • Options for concert engagements and master classes within two years after the Competition.

2. Second Prize

  • A total prize sum of €10,000 will be awarded. Of this, € 6,000 is reserved for the development of a personal artistic project in collaboration with the TROMP Team, to be presented at a future edition of the TROMP Festival.

  • Options for concert engagements and master classes within two years after the Competition.

3. Third Prize

  • A total prize sum of €5,000 will be awarded. Of this, €3,000 is reserved for the development of a personal artistic project in collaboration with the TROMP Team, to be presented at a future edition of the TROMP Festival.

  • Options for concert engagements and master classes within two years after the Competition.

The portion of the prize money reserved for artistic development is to be used for the creation of a personal project in collaboration with the TROMP Team, intended to be presented at a future edition of the TROMP Festival.

This process will take place in close consultation with the artistic director. The TROMP Foundation is committed to supporting the artistic growth of percussionists and has a strong international network and a proven track record in launching the careers of its laureates.

The Friends of TROMP Audience Award

This prize is awarded by the audience attending the Final Round of the TROMP International Percussion Competition.
Audience members vote by ballot, based on the performances of the 3 finalists.

The winner of the Audience Award will be publicly announced immediately after the Competition Finale.

The prize consists of:

  • Concert in Eindhoven in season 2027/2028

  • Video recording sponsored by TROMP

Artistic Team - Round 3

Yannis Kyriakides - Bart Grietens

YANNIS KYRIAKIDES - composer

Yannis Kyriakides (born 1969, Limassol) is a Cypriot-Dutch composer and sound artist whose work bridges acoustic tradition and digital innovation. After studies with Louis Andriessen and Dick Raaijmakers in The Hague, he developed a distinctive voice combining instruments, live electronics, language and media. Kyriakides is co-founder of the label Unsounds and teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. His works—ranging from chamber music and installation to opera—are performed worldwide and invite listeners to rethink what music can mean in a multimedia world. 

SEISMISMS - mandatory commissioned word Round 3

Seismisms is a score that translates daily seismic activity into a notated form for solo percussion. Drawing on data from the USGS earthquake database, each day’s seismic events are mapped visually onto a single page. Over time, these daily pages accumulate into a score: a year comprises 365 pages, each one a unique snapshot of global tectonic movement

The score is conceived as open: it does not prescribe fixed rhythms, but rhythmic relationships, no fixed pitches, but relative pitches and textures. It also provides the performer with visual translations of seismic activity. The performer responds sonically through three families of sound, which are encoded in the score:

1. low membranophones (bass drum, timpani, or low toms), evoking the ground’s resonant, subterranean presence.
2. small objects played on or around the drum (shaken idiophones, branches, stones, or metals), suggesting friction, scattering, and surface detail.
3. instruments capable of high sustained tones (bowed metals, ocarinas, whistles, melodicas), producing fragile, unstable sounds that mirror an instability and unpredictability of weather around seismic activity. 

The piece is of indeterminate length. The percussionist may choose any number of consecutive pages to perform, shaping a form that can range from brief to extended durations. Initially, Seismisms will exist as a score (in PDF form) of a total of 365 pages, a year’s activity. In its future form, the work will become “mutable": a continuously generating online score where each day’s seismic data is translated into a new page, exported as a PDF. In this way, the piece is potentially endless, a living record of seismic activity rendered as music.

For its premiere at Tromp, the percussionist will devise an individual setup based on the three recommended sound families. In this first version, no amplification will be used. 

Examples of Yannis Kyriakides’s work: Music for Viola, Lunch Music (video), Hands

www.kyriakides.com

Preview of the Seismisms score

Seismisms 28-10-2025
Seismisms 29-10-2025
Seismisms 30-10-2025
Seismisms 31-10-2025

Artistic Team - Final

Malika Kishino

MALIKA KISHINO - composer

Malika Kishino (born 1971, Kyoto) is a Japanese-born, Germany-based composer whose work explores sound as a living, evolving organism. After studying law in Kyoto, she continued her musical education in Paris and Lyon, including research in electronic music at IRCAM. Kishino is known for her refined and architectural approach to composition, often blending acoustic instruments with electronics to create vivid, organic sound worlds. Her music ranges from solo and chamber works to orchestral pieces and sound installations, and is performed internationally by leading ensembles. Kishino is regarded as one of the distinctive, forward-looking voices in contemporary music today.

Malika Kishino is writing a new work for the 2026 edition of TROMP Competition. The piece is inspired by her 2021–22 Percussion Concerto for percussionist Alexej Gerassimez (TROMP winner 2010) and the Duisburger Philharmoniker under Jonathan Stockhammer, premiered at Essen Now in November 2022. 
You can listen to that
concerto. This is intended to serve as inspiration for your program.

www.malika-kishino.com

Genevieve Murphy

GENEVIEVE MURPHY - composer & dramaturg

Genevieve Murphy (born in Scotland, based in Amsterdam) is a composer and performer known for her highly personal and interdisciplinary approach to music. Combining contemporary classical composition with performance art, psychology, spoken word, and visual elements, her work often explores themes of identity, perception, and human behaviour.

Murphy creates projects ranging from solo performances to multimedia works and collaborations with ensembles, choreographers, and visual artists. Her music has been presented internationally at festivals and theatres across Europe, and she is celebrated for her ability to merge emotional storytelling with experimental sound worlds.

Working with Genevieve Murphy in the Final Round

In the Final Round, composer and performer Genevieve Murphy will take on a double role as both dramaturg and composer. She will work closely with each finalist during the three rehearsal days to help shape, connect, and refine your complete 35-minute recital

  • She will compose new musical material specifically for your recital, tailored to your artistic ideas and to the instruments you use.

  • This material can function as:

    • transitions between two pieces

    • a short interlude or character moment

    • a “bridge” between contrasting sound worlds

    • a way to move from solo repertoire into the compulsory work by Kishino

  • She will also help you finalize the overall structure of your program and make dramaturgical connections between the works you choose

Genevieve will compose approximately six minutes of material in total — not as one piece, but divided into two or more short moments that you can weave into your program.

Her stylistic range is broad, from intimate spoken-word textures to energetic percussive writing — offering many possibilities for shaping transitions and atmospheres in your recital.

What you must prepare as a finalist

When designing your final recital, it is essential that you:

  1. leave space in your program for Genevieve’s material (we recommend planning two separate moments where her music can be inserted).

  2. choose repertoire that relates well to the compulsory work by Malika Kishino, as Genevieve will use Kishino’s musical world as an artistic reference.

  3. bring clear ideas about where you want transitions or dramaturgical shifts — Genevieve will help you shape these during the three rehearsal days.

Example (not mandatory)

A possible approach could be:

  • begin with a solo work of your choice

  • transition with a short section composed by Genevieve

  • ilay the compulsory work by Kishino

  • Insert a second Genevieve moment to shift into your final piece

  • end with another work of your choice

This is only an example. You are free to design your own structure — as long as you actively include Genevieve’s material and allow space for collaboration.

Why this matters

The Final Round is built around co-creation. Your recital is not just a sequence of pieces, but a compact artistic story developed together with:

  • the Asko|Schönberg musicians

  • two composers (fixed-score + roadmap)

  • and Genevieve Murphy as dramaturg/composer

Finalists must be prepared to work collaboratively and flexibly — the three rehearsal days are short and intense, so coming in with a clear structure and open artistic attitude is crucial.

www.genevieve-murphy.com

Jurjen Alkema

JURJEN ALKEMA - visual artist

Jurjen Alkema is a Dutch visual artist and designer whose work blends projection, architecture, and digital scenography into immersive visual environments. Known for his refined use of light, movement, and space, he creates atmospheric worlds that interact with performers and reshape the audience’s perception of the stage. His installations and video designs have been presented in concert halls, theatres, and festivals throughout the Netherlands, including his striking projection work in the Kleine Zaal of Muziekgebouw Eindhoven. In TROMP 2026, Jurjen will collaborate with the finalists to create a custom visual landscape for each recital, supporting and enhancing their artistic narrative.

Working with Visual Artist Jurjen Alkema

In the Final Round, you will collaborate with visual designer Jurjen Alkema, known for his immersive projection-based work that transforms performance spaces into dynamic visual landscapes. His installations—such as his recent projection work in the Kleine Zaal of Muziekgebouw Eindhoven—combine light, architectural mapping, and live-responsive visuals to create a powerful and atmospheric concert experience.

Jurjen will design a custom visual world for your 35-minute program. This can include:

  • abstract projection textures

  • visual transitions between musical sections

  • architectural mapping on walls, floors, or objects

  • subtle ambient visuals

  • highly expressive imagery that strengthens your artistic narrative

His approach always supports the music rather than overpowering it.

What you can prepare as a finalist

The visual design process begins after the ten candidates are selected. You do not need to submit visual ideas during your application.
However, once selected, you can help shape the collaboration by preparing:

  • a moodboard

  • examples of colours, textures, or lighting atmospheres you imagine

  • reference images or video clips

  • or specific conceptual ideas linked to your recital program

You may also send Jurjen inspirational images or footage if you have a clear artistic direction. None of this needs to be finished at the time of your application.

Optional for the artistic concept (not mandatory)

You may already hint at a visual direction in your artistic concept if you wish, but this is not mandatory. The detailed visual collaboration happens only with the final 10 selected participants.


www.instagram.com/jurjenalkema/

work Jurjen Alkema 3

Preview of Jurjen Alkema’s

work Jurjen Alkema 2
work Jurjen Alkema 1
work Jurjen Alkema 4

Registration fee

The registration fee is 50 euros, for each participant.

Candidates who will be selected to present themselves during TROMP 2026 in Eindhoven are required to pay 225 euros participation fee. This fee includes entry to TROMP festival concerts.

Fees are non-refundable.

Deadlines

January 19, 2026 – Applications open via Muvac
March 1, 2026 – Applications closed
June 2026 – Announcement of selected candidates
September 1, 2026 – Deadline to upload pre-recorded video pitch Round 3 (selected candidates only)

TROMP uses Muvac, a professional online platform for musician applications and competition management. Through Muvac, you’ll find all details about the repertoire, program requirements, and video submissions.

You can create your Muvac account starting January 19, 2026.
Make sure you have prepared your videos, repertoire selections, and program details, so you can submit everything smoothly within the timeframe between January 19 and March 1, 2026.

Rules & regulations

You are currently reading a summary of the more comprehensive set of rules and guidelines for the TROMP International Percussion Competition 2026. The most recent rules and regulations for TROMP 2026 are published on this page.

Last update: 5 February 2026

The TROMP Foundation reserves the right to amend and/or add rules. Please check this website for the latest information to stay up to date.

FAQ