Paris / Riga, May 11, 2026 – A flagship project of the International Music Council (IMC), the International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) will be held for the first time in Latvia, thanks to the invitation of our longstanding partner SLLC (Latvian Public Service Media).
Since its inception in 1954, the IRC has become the most important platform for the promotion of contemporary music via radio broadcast while offering a unique forum for professional exchange among radio music producers and presenters. Its central purpose, strongly supported by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is to provide contemporary musical creations the largest possible number of broadcasts worldwide.
Over the course of its history, the IRC has revealed the emergence of many of the world’s most gifted composers whilst they are still in the early stage of their career. Renowned composers such as Sukhi Kang, Murray Schafer or more recently Hildur Guðnadóttir and Agata Zubel had their first international success when they were presented at the Rostrum.
During the event in Riga, delegates of 23 national radio networks from four continents will present 40 works composed within the five years preceding the Rostrum. After having listened to these works, the assembly of delegates will select and recommend the most distinctive works in two categories: ‘general’ and ‘young composers under 30’. These and other works will be presented in concerts and broadcast during the year following the event by the participating and other interested radio stations thanks to the cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union. In this way, these works will reach literally billions of listeners. In addition to the unique outreach generated by broadcasts, selected and recommended composers will be offered additional opportunities to further develop their career.
Selected composers in both categories will receive the IRC Prize in the form of a bursary supported by our longstanding partners RTP–Radio Television Portugal Antena 2 and the European Broadcasting Union – EBU Music.
Moreover, thanks to the partnership with the renowned Viennese music publisher Universal Edition, all presented composers will be offered some additional opportunities to publish their music via the online service SCODO.
In addition to the listening sessions, delegates will once again have opportunities for professional exchange, including the traditional composer interview, which this year will feature Krists Auznieks, Jānis Petraškevičs, Anna Fišere, Aleksandrs Avramecs.
Delegates will attend the live concert at the Latvian Radio Concert Studio, “Contemporary Fantasies. Latvian Vibe”, as well as the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra’s 100th season closing concert.
The Rostrum sessions will be co-chaired by Gregor Pirš, Head of Music, Ars Programme at Radio Slovenia, and IRC Secretary, Davide Grosso.
This year’s selection of the Rostrum will be announced at a press conference to be held on May 15th at 12.30 PM at the Studio 1 of Latvijas Radio building (Doma Laukums, 8).
For media enquiries: Davide Grosso, International Music Council: d.grosso[at]imc-cim.org.