Model.HeaderVisualTitle

Discover young talent

International Van Wassenaer Competition

The International Van Wassenaer Competition (IVWC) is the oldest competition for early music ensembles in the Netherlands. Since 2014 the three-day event has taken place during the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht. For information about participating in the competition, see this page.

Starting in 2019, the IVWC will no longer be held every two years but annually, with a varied focus on early (Middle Ages and Renaissance), middle (Baroque / basso continuo) and late (Classical and Romantic) repertoire, performed on historical instruments.

We are more than happy to let new voices on the early music stage have their say in this competition, in which young ensembles are encouraged to win over both jury and audience with technique and interesting programme choices, characterful interpretations and a touch of flair.

Discover the stars of tomorrow and cheer on your favourites: the winners get to pack their bags for a tour in the Festival Oude Muziek Tournees or a concert during Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht.

For more information about participating see this page.

Order tickets (from 20 August):
Semi-finals - Block 1, 2 September
Semi-finals - Block 2, 2 September
Semi-finals - Block 3, 2 September
Masterclasses, 3 September
Finals, 4 September

IVWC (Marieke Wijntjes)

After a pre-selection the ensembles are assessed by an international professional jury during the semi-final, which is open to the public. The ensembles who drop out in this round are offered a coaching session with one of the jury members. In the final, a maximum of four ensembles compete for various cash prizes and a paid concert tour. In addition, all finalists receive a masterclass voucher which they can exchange for coaching by a musician of their choice. In this way they get the chance to learn from their musical examples.

Review 2026: Early Edition

Winners

  • Jury awards:
    • 1st place: La Capriola
    • 2nd place: Matica de Flor
    • 3rd place: InterLineas
  • Audience award: Matica de Flor
  • FOMU-prize (a concert tour in the season of the Festival Oude Muziek Tournees or a concert during the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht): Matica de Flor


All four finalists received a masterclass voucher with a value of € 500.

Jury 2026
Krijn Koetsveld (chairman)
Saskia Coolen
Thomas Baeté
Tore Tom Denys
Stefan Morent