Nearly twenty composers of various nationalities compete in the V Composition Contest for Symphonic Band ‘Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol’, endowed with 10,000 euros.

The contest, open to musicians of any nationality, aims to motivate great composers to create symphonic works inspired by the city of Estepona.

The Estepona City Council informs that a total of 18 composers of different nationalities, mostly from the country, have competed in the fifth edition of the International Composition Competition for Symphonic Band ‘Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol’, which will award 10,000 euros gross to the composer of the best symphonic work about the town of Estepona.

The aim of this contest is to reward the best musical project, also taking into account other criteria such as the composer’s career, his musical catalog, his experience and his dedication to the creation of music for ‘Symphonic Band’ or ‘Wind and Percussion Orchestra’.

The Councilor for Culture, Macarena Diánez, explained that, once the registration period ended on the 13th, a jury composed of three renowned personalities in the field of composition and / or musical direction will select the composer who presents the best curriculum, catalog and project. The chosen work should reflect in an outstanding way the values of the contest, promoting, through its musical composition, the city of Estepona, its people and its traditions.

The winning composer must deliver the finished composition, written and laid out, both the conductor’s score and the corresponding parts of each musician, before September 18, 2026. Once the work has been reviewed by the specialized commission, it will be premiered and the prize will be publicly awarded to the winning composer. The work will be performed by the Municipal Band of Estepona, under the direction of its author, on November 20, at the Teatro Auditorio Felipe VI, coinciding with the special concert in honor of St. Cecilia.

The Consistory convened the first edition of this contest to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Municipal Band (1940-2020). The winning works of the four contests held are: ‘Estepona, Jardín del Mediterráneo (Astabuna)’, by the composer from Jaén Álvaro López Cámara; ‘Estepona, el Jardín del Mundo’, by the Valencian composer Fernando Ferrer Martínez, artistically known as Ferrer Ferran; the Suite Continua for Symphonic Band ‘Impresiones de Estepona’ by the Dutch conductor and composer Christiaan Janssen; and the Sinfonietta for Wind and Percussion Orchestra ‘Estepona, la Ciudad de las Flores’, by the Valencian composer and conductor Hugo Chinesta. All of them are already part of the archive of the department of the Municipal Band of Estepona.