Tromp
Next Gen: Mallet Competition 2026
23 - 26 September 2026 | Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Featured Musicians
Tromp Next Gen: Mallet Competition 2026
Amy Weyand (USA)
Jiajun Chen (CN)
Elsa Roth (FR)
Alois Marti (CH)
Ami Nakamoto (JP)
Cui Zheng (CN)
Haopeng Jia (CN)
Borna Brekalo (HR)
Michael Crane (USA)
Dane Franolic (HR)
Florentin Klingelschmitt (FR)
Hedi Yang (CN)
Dennis Smith (USA)
Gonçalo Reis (PT)
Enaitz Manso (ES)
Giorgia D'Angelo (IT)
Yifan Du (CN)
Leonardo Antòn Bertolino (IT)
Moritz Wiedenmann (DE)
Ivaylo Koychev (BG/JP)
Shirui Chen (CN)
Mihail Babus (USA)
Zhouyunuo Wang (CN)
Joey Eng (AU)
Maria Flader (PL)
Runhang Zhou (CN)
You Chun Tung (TW)
Mirai Katsuda (JP)
Wojciech Klag (PL)
Samuel Hsu (USA)
Yoshitaka Kojima (JP)
Sophia Stehlik (USA)
Yun-Shan Lin (TW)
Xingyue Xue (CN)
Sheng-Yuan Wang (TW)
Neža Jezernik (SI)
Shuangyi Li (CN)
Xingyao Xue (CN)
Jiayue Yang
YiTong Chen (CN)
Bowen Dong (CN)
Chiaki Matsumoto (JP)
Sung-En Chi (TW)
Cheng-Ying Wu (TW)
Ting Ni Li (TW)
Siao-Yan Su (TW)
Timothée Aubry (FR)
Shunhe Wang (CN)
Hsiang-En Wang (TW)
Hua Ying (CN)
Competiton Schedule
Jury Rounds
Wed 23 - Fri 25 Sept
CKE - Cultuur & Kunst Eindhoven
Round 1
For most of these fifty musicians, this is the first big stage of their lives. Young players from around the world come to Eindhoven for the very first TROMP Next Gen: Mallet Competition, and you get to be there for the start of something.
Each one brings a piece they wrote themselves alongside music they chose to play, so every performance is personal, and no two are alike. Over three days, CKE fills up with fresh ideas, nerves, ambition and real talent: the future of mallet playing, taking its first steps in public.
It's a special thing to watch up close: young people chasing something they love, all in. An international jury chaired by Nancy Zeltsman, with Peter Prommel, Nozomi Hiwatashi and Yi-Ping Yang, picks five finalists and one wildcard for the final on Saturday 26 September.
Sat 26 Sept
CKE - Cultuur & Kunst Eindhoven
Final
Three days of competition come down to this. Six finalists take the stage at CKE Eindhoven for the final of the very first TROMP Next Gen: Mallet Competition, and only one of them walks away the winner.
Each one has 20 to 25 minutes and a programme entirely their own, on marimba, vibraphone, or both. It's their last chance to show the jury, and the room, exactly who they are as a musician. After everything they've put into getting here, this is where it counts.
The jury, Nancy Zeltsman, Peter Prommel, Nozomi Hiwatashi and Yi-Ping Yang, announces the winners later that same evening.
Competition Jury
Tromp Next Gen: Mallet Competition 2026
Nancy Zeltsman (USA)
Peter Prommel (NL)
Nozomi Hiwatashi (JP)
Yi-Ping Yang (TW)