kantos Christmas carol competition 2026

Winner’s Prize Money: £500

Guest Panellist: Cecilia McDowall

The winning entry will be performed in our Candlelit Carols with Kantos concerts on Thursday 3 December at St John’s Church, Chester and Saturday 5 December 2026 at St Ann’s Church, Manchester.

THE SMALL PRINT

  • Your piece must be related to Christmas time in some way. It may be a sacred or secular text (or both).

  • You may use any text or combination of texts that you have the correct permissions to use.

  • It must be an a capella choral composition, with no accompanying instruments.

  • Your piece may be up to 6 minutes long and must be for voices only with divisi allowed up to and including: SSSAAATTTBBB.

  • Works that have already been performed by a professional ensemble in concert and/or released on a commercial recording are not eligible.

  • There is no age limit.

  • The deadline for entries is Thursday 5 November at 17.00 GMT. Entries submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

  • The entry fee is £10. (You may enter more than one piece, but each submission requires an entry fee.)

  • The winner will be announced on Friday 20 November.

HOW TO ENTER

  • Submit your score as a single PDF file using the submission form below.

  • Make your £10 entry fee payment via Zeffy by clicking the button below as soon as you have submitted your score.

Pay now