Borys Lyatoshynsky Prize

The State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Art Education has announced the competition for the Borys Lyatoshynsky Prize for the 2027 cycle. This annual state award honors Ukrainian composers for outstanding achievements in professional musical composition.

For the 2027 award cycle, the prize will be conferred specifically for a single musical work within academic music genres. The award carries a monetary prize of UAH 20,000, with exactly one recipient selected each year.

Applications must be filed by December 1, 2026. Individual composers are not permitted to submit direct self-nominations, as submissions must be officially endorsed and submitted by eligible nominating institutions.

What is funded

The prize provides financial recognition for a completed musical work belonging to academic music genres. For the 2027 edition, the call specifically supports an individual musical piece rather than a broad body of work. A single laureate will receive an award of UAH 20,000.

To be eligible, the piece must have been composed and publicly performed, published, or premiered within the last five years. Furthermore, its public presentation must have occurred at least six months before the nomination submission. Works that have previously received this prize or any other state award in Ukraine are not eligible.

Who can apply

Nominees must be professional composers holding Ukrainian citizenship. The prize cannot be awarded posthumously. Composers who have previously won may only be nominated again after at least five years have passed, provided they have achieved new distinguished creative results.

Eligible candidates cannot submit applications independently. Nominations must be submitted by recognized entities, including cultural institutions of any ownership form operating in music, state higher and pre-higher art education institutions, the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, professional music and composer unions, or cultural non-governmental organizations.

Conditions and requirements

Submissions are evaluated on three formal criteria: high professional craftsmanship, artistic value, and distinct originality. Nominating bodies and the nominees are legally responsible for the completeness and accuracy of all submitted information.

Practical tip. Gather performance recordings, complete scores, and published documentation of the premiere well before the deadline. If the agency identifies non-compliant documents, it allows resubmission, but all corrected materials must still reach the organizer before the final December 1, 2026 cutoff.

How to apply

Nominations are primarily submitted through the electronic cabinet of the nominating institution via the Registry of applications and recipients of state support in the field of culture. If objective technical obstacles prevent submission through the registry, documents may be submitted by email.

The package must contain a formal petition on the nominator’s letterhead, a description of the work, the composer’s written consent, personal data consent forms, a biographical sheet, and a signed creative characterization. Nominees must also provide copies of their passport, tax identification number, diplomas, the musical score, audio or video recordings, and press reviews or posters verifying the premiere.

Applications are submitted on the donor’s page: arts.gov.ua.