Johan Wagenaar Composition Oeuvre Prize & Dag in de Branding 77

Calliope Tsoupaki receives the Johan Wagenaar Composition Oeuvre Prize 2026 and curates Dag in de Branding 77

The official award ceremony of the prestigious Johan Wagenaar Composition Oeuvre Prize for Calliope Tsoupaki will take place on 16 October 2026 at Amare in The Hague, during a concert by the Residentie Orkest, featuring two of her orchestral works, Falling and Thin Air.

Calliope Tsoupaki, former Composer Laureate of the Netherlands and a close artistic ally of the Residentie Orkest, explores in Falling how we, as human beings, search for new meaning in a world that has become unstable. The piece is compact—just thirteen minutes—but intense and full of movement.

In Thin Air, Tsoupaki’s second work on the programme, we return to a piece born out of compassion and solidarity. Originally written during the pandemic and premiered in this orchestral version by the Residentie Orkest, Thin Air has proved remarkably timeless and may resonate even more powerfully today than it did then.

Curator of Dag in de Branding 77 — Ars Nova

The following day, 17 October, Tsoupaki takes on another special role as curator of the 77th edition of Dag in de Branding, devoted to the theme Ars Nova. The programme takes us on a journey through her musical lineage: her own teachers, her imagined mentors from the past, and the young masters of the future. Within this continuum of transmission and renewal, the idea of Ars Nova takes on a living meaning.

The day concludes with a concert by Ensemble Klang, featuring, among other works, Tsoupaki’s Greek Dance, originally written for piano in 1990 and specially arranged for Klang’s extended ensemble, alongside Michael Gordon’s monumental Trance.

Together, these two days mark a special moment in Tsoupaki’s artistic journey, bringing together recognition of her oeuvre with her continuing engagement with the musical past, present and future.

Meet the guest curator: https://www.dagindebranding.nl/en/meet-guest-curator-calliope-tsoupaki/
Program: https://www.dagindebranding.nl/en/editie/77-edition-77/