Christiaan Willemse wins Ö1 Talent Exchange Composition Prize 2025
The Ö1 Composition Prize 2025, endowed with 10,000 euros, goes to the young composer Christiaan Willemse. He is studying composition in the postgraduate programme with Johannes Maria Staud at the Mozarteum University and impressed the jury with his personal and technically advanced works and compositional flair - congratulations!
With the Ö1 Talent Exchange Composition Prize, Christiaan Willemse receives €10,000 and a composition commission. His work will be premiered in 2026 as part of the ‘Ö1 Musiksalon’ and he will also receive a free two-year subscription to the scodo platform of the music publisher Universal Edition, thereby being included in the publisher's portfolio.
Christiaan Willemse was born on 29 July 1997 in Pretoria, South Africa. He began his musical training on the violin at the age of 13 and soon developed an interest in composition. In August 2014, he was part of Alexander Müllenbach's composition class at the Summer Academy of the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. From 2016, he studied composition there in a bachelor's programme with Kurt Estermann, from 2020 in a master's programme and, since 2023, in a postgraduate programme with Johannes Maria Staud. In 2024, his orchestral work ‘Diversions’ was premiered at the Ink Still Wet workshop in Grafenegg.
Radio tip: Christiaan Willemse will be featured on the Ö1 programme ‘Intrada’ on Friday, 6 June 2025, starting at 10:05 a.m.
The unique Ö1 Talent Exchange Composition Prize was awarded for the 10th time this year by Ö1 and the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) and is aimed at composition students at the five Austrian music universities mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK), Anton Bruckner Private University, Mozarteum University Salzburg and University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (KUG), each of which nominated two students.
Jury statement
"The scores reveal a personal, technically advanced style that is also touching. With compositional finesse, he leads the audience into his world of sound.’ The jury consisted of Daniel Hochreiter (Anton Bruckner Private University), Sandra Standke (Universal Edition), Davor Vince (KUG), Sylvie Lacroix (Austrian National Bank), Peter Jakober (Mozarteum University Salzburg), Rainer Elstner (Ö1 music editorial team) and Hannah Eisendle (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna).
All finalists
- Alireza Shahabolmolkfard (Anton Bruckner Private University)
- Dominik Wilnauer-Leitner (Anton Bruckner Private University)
- Claudia Cañamero (University of Music and Performing Arts Graz)
- Çağdaş Onaran (University of Music and Performing Arts Graz)
- Stefan Walter Grimus (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna)
- Reina Yoshioka (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna)
- Emma Ebmeyer (Mozarteum University Salzburg)
- Christiaan Josef Willemse (Mozarteum University Salzburg)
- Valeria Rymska-Dolhikh (MUK Private University Vienna)
- Ricardo Vendramin-Ross (MUK Private University Vienna)