Winner International Composers Contest

Winner International Composers Contest

The Estepona City Council informs that the Dutch conductor, composer, arranger and organist Christiaan Janssen (Netherlands – 1974), has been the winner of the III Composition Competition for Symphonic Band ‘Estepona, Jardín de la Costa del Sol’, endowed with a single and indivisible prize of 10,000 euros.

In this edition, open to musicians of legal age of any nationality, a total of 11 composers of recognized prestige have participated. The objective of this competition is to motivate outstanding symphonic music professionals to compose pieces inspired by Estepona.

The jury of this edition has been chaired by the band and orchestra director, composer and pianist Fernando Ferrer Martínez ‘Ferrer Ferran’, together with Óscar Navarro González, director, clarinetist, composer and musical pedagogue, Goya Award for Best Original Music ( La Mula, 2013), and José María Moreno Valiente, director of the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra.

These professionals of recognized prestige have been in charge of choosing the composer with the best resume and catalogue, in whose compositional project the values of the contest are outstanding, promoting the city of Estepona, its people and its customs through their musical composition. To do this, they have taken into account criteria such as the composer’s career, his musical catalogue, his experience and his dedication to symphonic bands or wind and percussion orchestras.

As established in the rules, the winning composer of the competition must compose the work inspired by Estepona before January 15, 2024.

Once the composition has been reviewed by the specialized commission, the Estepona City Council, in agreement with the author Christiaan Janssen, will set a date for the premiere of the work and the public presentation of the award. The winner will not be able to participate in the next five editions of the contest.

The City Council called the first edition of this competition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Municipal Music Band (1940-2020). After the success achieved in terms of number of participants and quality of the compositions, the City Council has opted to maintain this contest to continue expanding the city’s cultural offering.

The winning works of the two previous contests, ‘Estepona, Jardín del Mediterráneo (Astabuna)’, by the Jaén composer Álvaro López Cámara, and “Estepona, el Jardín del Mundo”, by the Valencian composer Fernando Ferrer Martínez, known artistically as Ferrer Ferran, They are already part of the repertoire of the Estepona Municipal Music Band.

This cultural project joins other artistic competitions launched by the City Council to recognize creators from different disciplines. Among them, the ‘Ciudad de Estepona’ International Novel Prize stands out, which is organized jointly with the Manuel Alcántara Foundation, the ‘Ciudad de Estepona’ International Poetry Prize, which has the collaboration of the Pre-Textos publishing house, the successive editions of ‘Estepona CREA’ or ‘Young Andalusian Designers’, among others.

More info and official announcement: → Website Estepona


Winner Composition Competition

Winner Composition Competition

The Winners of the Valley Winds International Composition Competition are:

First Prize: → Der Arme Poet (The Poor Poet) by Christiaan Janssen, The Netherlands – $ 4000,-

Second Prize: Brancaleone by Jayme Vignoli, Brazil – $ 1000,-

Congratulations to our two winners! We look forward to performing your works.

Congratulations to all of our finalists:

  • Clackermonkey – Kent Darnielle, USA
  • Fantasy Suite – Jeremy Makkonen, USA
  • Mazurkas of Water and Fire – Roman Czura, Poland
  • Millennial Sketches Part I – Neal Endicott, USA
  • Pillars of Creation – Joshua Reed, United Kingdom
  • Recondito – Israel Ruiz Ayala, Mexico
  • Sinfonia Breve – Joseph Hallman, USA
  • Tha-raack! – David Heuser, USA

We received 386 compositions from 50 countries. All identifying information about the composers and their home countries were redacted throughout the entire adjudication process until after the winners had been selected.

Special appreciation to our Jury Members:

  • Tony Brackett, President of the Valley Winds and Composition Competition Coordinator
  • Dr. Brian Messier, Artistic Director Valley Winds
  • Janice Murphy, Principal Clarinet Valley Winds
  • Justin Eliason, Trumpet Valley Winds
  • Michelle Rakers, retired Trumpet and Conductor United States Marine Band, DENMARK
  • Ingrid Martin, Artistic Director & Conductor of the Crosswinds Ensemble, AUSTRALIA
  • Sarah Watts, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet Professor Royal Northern College of Music, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Kristin Davidson, retired French horn United States Marine Band, USA
  • David Zerkel, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium University of Michigan, USA

Many thanks to our generous sponsors:

  • Vandoren USA
  • Christopher Kempf, Euphonium Valley Winds
  • Janice Murphy
  • Dorothy Brackett
  • The Valley Winds
  • Tony Brackett

More info about → Valley Winds:


26 June 2021 – Veterans Day 2021

26 June 2021 – Veterans Day 2021

The Netherlands

Incredibly proud that I have been able to contribute to this.

An opening ceremony is organized from the Koninklijke Schouwburg in Denhaag, with special stories by four veterans. And, among other things, music from my hand. All performed by the Royal Military Chapel Johan Willem Friso with the famous artists Stef Bos, Claudia de Breij and Snelle.

The NOS broadcasts this program live from 13:00 Hrs.