Holly Harrison was “surprised and excited” when her piece was selected at the Apeldoorn Young Composers Meeting.

Sydney-based composer Holly Harrison’s piece was judged the winner out of 16 works by composers from around the globe participating in the 2014 Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. Harrison wasn’t expecting the win, and was “surprised and excited” by the announcement: “It never felt like a competition,” she says. “It truly was a meeting for young composers; a great environment to make friends, eat and drink, exchange musical ideas, and an opportunity to work with a phenomenal group of musicians and mentors. When the winners were announced, it seemed to happen very quickly.”

It was a rigorous week of music-making with the resident ensemble, the Orkest de Ereprijs: “During the week, the ensemble rehearsed our sixteen pieces, and we each received lessons from and attended lectures by senior composers, Martijn Padding, Richard Ayres, Ed Bennet and Anna Meredith, who were each wonderfully inspiring and supportive.” There was even the exciting opportunity for a lecture by celebrated Dutch composer, Louis Andriessen.

Composers from the USA, Ecuador, Ireland, Singapore, Latvia, Serbia, Canada, Mexico, Wales, Hungary, Iran and Australia gathered for the exciting forum,...