Day of the Composer 2026 kicks off with music on ‘regular’ NS train

Day of the Composer 2026 kicks off with music in the ‘regular’ NS train, nine City Composers and City Songs at stations as the start of music routes in numerous cities on Saturday 20 June 2026. And a festive closing concert on Sunday 21 June at TivoliVredenburg Utrecht.

For the fifth edition of the Day of the Composer, there are no less than three firsts: first of all: live music for the first time in regular NS trains. Board the Arnhem - Zwolle - Groningen route on Saturday 20 June, meet composers and experience live performances en route and at the stations. The musical train journey connects the Station Concerts in Arnhem, Zwolle and Groningen on the Day of the Composer. 

Also active on this day are 9 City Composers, with a new city song for their city, Station Concerts with City Routes in Arnhem, Utrecht, Maastricht, Groningen, Rotterdam, The Hague, Zwolle and Eindhoven. 
On Sunday 21 June, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra will participate for the first time in a festive evening of new Dutch music in the main hall of TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht. See dagvandecomponist.co.uk for the programme with more than 100 concerts in 15 cities, stations and trains. 

Scoop: Music travels with NS

Travellers on the ‘regular’ NS train on the Arnhem, Zwolle, Groningen route can be surprised by new music performed by top musicians on the moving train on 20 June. It will require sailor's legs for them, and you may have to hold a lectern for them. But when are you so close to the music and the composers?

Playing viola player on board Michael Gieler of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Ardemus Saxophone Quartet, composer/soprano Monique Krüs and violinist Martine Velthuis, winner of the Dutch Violin Competition. The Composer of the Netherlands, Camiel Jansen, is also on hand, as is the promotion team of the Day of the Composer.

Martine Velthuis plays (exclusively on the Arnhem - Zwolle route!) her favourite: the spectacular Dance fromTheo Loevendie for solo violin and percussion bells. In Zwolle, she already has to leave the train to conduct her youth orchestra there in the afternoon. Michael Gieler, viola player of the Concertgebouw Orchestra also takes the traveller on a dizzying dance, the Tarantella for solo viola by composer Kate Moore.  

The Ardemus Saxophone Quartet plays on both tracks, performing music by composers Sarah Neutkens, Toek Numan, Guillermo Lago and more. At the Station Concert in Zwolle, the quartet will play Sarajevo from Lago's series Ciudades (Cities), a penetrating work inspired by the history of the Bosnian capital.

A special composer team, including Composer of the Netherlands Camiel Jansen, travels the country to report live from different cities and collaborate with local creators.  

Concerts on the train are free with a valid NS ticket.

There is media presence; so you can be in the picture.

Trails Saturday, June 20, 2026

Arnhem ➔ Zwolle (Intercity) 11.41 - 12.40

Zwolle ➔ Groningen (Sprinter) 13.53 - 14.58

Apply via dagvandecomponist.co.uk

Scoop: Nine City Composers during Day of the Composer 2026

Nine City Composers, each with their own story and a new city song, take centre stage during Composer's Day. The City Composers 2026 are: Setareh Nafisi - City Composer Groningen, Aart Strootman - City Composer Rotterdam, Stephanie Pan - City Composer The Hague, Huba de Graaff - City Composer Amsterdam, Diederik van der Laag - City Composer Utrecht, Kris Oelbrandt - City Composer Zwolle, Andries van Rossem - City Composer Arnhem, Nicoline Soeter - City Composer Tilburg and Hans Leenders - City Composer Maastricht.On Saturday 20 June 2026, they will give an ode to their city with a new city song. Their music will be performed at a publicly accessible Station Concert, performed by numerous choristers and musicians.The Station Concerts form the pivotal point in the city programmes. At numerous locations, composers lead the audience past performances and special places.

Scoop: Final concert Day of the Composer with Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

For the first time, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra will participate in the Day of the Composer with a full-evening programme in the main hall TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, on Sunday evening 21 June in TivoliVredenburg (Utrecht). 

The final concert of Composer's Day presents a full-length programme featuring the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by conductor Markus Stenz. Central is Joey Roukens’ violin concerto Out of the Deep, performed by top violinist Simone Lamsma. The work won this year's VSCD award, the Ovation, for the most outstanding stage performance. 

The orchestra also plays the world premiere of the orchestral version of Burlesque on the Death of a Dictator. Composer Maxim Shalygin wrote his first version for fanfare orchestra in 2025 as City Composer of The Hague for the Day of the Composer. A first for the Netherlands is Blue Light Sphere from Kate Moore. The work, which premiered at the Sydney Opera House last year, was inspired by a Sufi tale. Kate Moore depicts an ascent from the depths into a “transcendental blue light sphere.” According to the Australian press, it “seemed as if the music of the spheres itself was filling the hall.”

The programme also offers a preview of the future of Dutch orchestral music. Young talents from Dutch conservatoires write a short composition for orchestra, from which the radio and audience choose a winner. Participants are José Nuno Dias Miranda (Conservatorium van Amsterdam), Thijmen Krijgsman (Royal Conservatoire The Hague) and Antonio Biancaniello (Utrechts Conservatorium). The winner will receive the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra's Stipendium.

Day of the Composer

The Day of the Composer is a national festival organised by New Music NOW that celebrates and highlights the music of composers active in the Netherlands. This is done with concerts, workshops, presentations and surprising performances. The strength of the festival lies in the direct visibility of composers as creators in the public space. New work can be heard not only in concert halls and theatres, but also at stations, on trains, from bell towers and in unexpected places in the city. Bringing music to unexpected places, outside the traditional concert hall, creates a fresh, accessible listening experience that brings composers and audiences closer together. 

The fifth edition of Composer's Day will take place on 20 and 21 June 2026 with several concerts in prelude to the day from 11 June. 

Practical information and ticket sales

Tickets are available from dagvandecomponist.co.uk  and the closing concert are available at Final concert Day of the Composer 2026

Organisation and partners

The network partners for the Day of the Composer include TivoliVredenburg, Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Holland Festival, Muziekgebouw, de Doelen, Amare, November Music, Gaudeamus, Intro in Situ, De Link, Orchestra De Ereprijs and many choirs, ensembles, music associations, conservatoires, music schools, composers, publishers and producers. Together, they join forces within the national New Music NOW Network to present concerts of music by more than a hundred composers, performed by more than five hundred musicians, in more than fifteen cities. 

Composer's Day is an initiative of New Music NOW. The event is unique in Europe as a national festival entirely dedicated to contemporary composers.