The Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa (JOP) is proud to announce that, thanks to the generous support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, it has been possible to award a creative grant to the winner of the JOP Young Composer Competition 2026, César Rafael.

The winning work, “Saudades, só portugueses”, will be premiered by the JOP on 7 August at the Konzerthaus Berlin, marking a moment of great significance for contemporary Portuguese music.
This grant reaffirms the JOP’s commitment to promoting and nurturing young talent and innovative musical creation.

The JOP Young Composer programme has already given numerous composers the opportunity to write for orchestra, in this case the JOP. We would highlight the success of the JOP commissions for Mariana Vieira and João Godinho, which received their world premieres by the JOP, conducted by Pedro Carneiro, at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin, winning the European Composer Award in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Konzerthaus Berlin Young Euro Classic Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung.

The Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa (JOP) is the national youth orchestra, acting as an ambassador for Portuguese talent in Europe and around the world. It represents Portugal in the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO) and is a creative partner of the Dudamel Foundation. It was founded in 2010 under the artistic direction of Maestro Pedro Carneiro.