UNIVERSAL MARIMBA COMPETITION INFORMATION 2026


These are the members of the Jury ( extra jury to be confirmed) 

  • Dr. Ludwig ALBERT (BE)     - artistic director / marimba virtuoso 
  • Igor LESNIK (HR)                - jury president  / percussion virtuoso 
  • Filippo Lattanzi (IT)              - percussion virtuoso 
  • Noriko Tsukagochi (JP)        - Marimba artist / 2nd Laureate 2004 
  • Johan Bridger (DK)              - Marimba / Percussion artist 
  • Ru Wen (CN)                       - Percussion virtuoso 
  • Extra jury to be confirmed


Extra jury members and representatives of the Belgian Cultural scene will be added during the final round. 

  • Leo Oudertits (BE)                 - Percussion virtuoso / Professor Emiritus 
  • Rodrigo F. Marques (PT)       - 1st Laureate 2017 & 2021 / Composer in residence  
  • Stefaan Ottenbourgs (BE) - Co-founder UMCB 


Venues of Competition & Festival 

  • Academic Hall - Academiezaal : address / Plankstraat 18, 3800 Sint-Truiden
  • Emperor Hall   - Keizerszaal     : address / Diesterstraat 1, 3800 Sint-Truiden

All Competition rounds will take place in the beautiful wooden Acdemic Hall. Festival concerts, masterclasses and the Youth Marimba Competition will be held in the Emperor Hall and other historical venues, located at the site of the Benedictine Abbey in the center of Sint-Truiden, all providing excellent acoustic Quality. .

Program of Competition & Festival 

  • The Competition will include 4 rounds for Marimba Solo and 3 rounds for Marimba Duo & Chamber Music. . 
  • The Festival (July 16-18) will include the Final Competition rounds, clinics, evening concert by presented jury members and the Marimba Youth Competition.Total Festival program will be announced from June 1st, 2026 on this website.


Judging criteria
Each judge will evaluate competitors during all rounds based on several criteria, including range, artistic ability, technique, interpretation, phrasing, stage presence, and sonority, and will assign a combined score. The highest and lowest score will be discarded, and the remainng scores will be averaged. The total average score across all rounds will determine the Competitors' ranking and final awards. All prizes and awards will be grantted unless the jury determines that a competitors' performance does not meet the required standard and does not warrant a specific prize. Candidates agree to accept the jury's decisions and to respect the rules of the Competition. 


Provided instruments
Marimba models will only be available from companies that are partnes of the Universal Marimba Competiton. Once all sponsors are confirmed, the total list of brands will be informed to all competitor's by the Competition, which strives to ensure that the most common brands are represented. Adams marimbas (L. Albert model & Alpha models) will always be available for the Competition and in the practice rooms as Adams appears as Honorary Sponsor. 


Practice
Notice that for the first round only a short soundcheck time can be scheduled in the academic Hall. Practice rooms & provided instruments are arranged at different locations. A Sound check is scheduled in the competition hall before each round.
 

Accommodation  
All candidates have to reserve their hotel accommodation personally. We advise all candidates to reserve the soonest at Hotel Stayen as a limited choice and availability can appear due to touristic high season. You will find on the page accommodation more information. 
 

Dress code 
Proper dress code is required at the competition. So please NO jeans, sneakers, tennis shoes, shorts....
During final round and award ceremony, it is required to wear evening dress & suit or dressed concert outfits. 
 

Performance time
It is required to all candidates to be presented 60' before their scheduled performances.
 

Scores  
It is forbidden to use photocopies or working copies of scores during performances, unless the official published score can be presented during the performance. Please see the Scores Regulation for details.

Photo / video
Please notice that it is strictly prohibited to make flashing photographs and videotaping during the competition. 
 

Daytrips  
A free daytrips to Adams factory may be organized during the Competition.
 

Currency  
Nearby the competition Hall you will find several bank automats.
 

Transport to the Competition and city Sint-Truiden 

  • By train:
    • Directly hourly connections from Brussels National air-port, city Liège & city Antwerp to train station city Sint-Truiden & Hasselt.   
  • By car:
    • From Brussels: E4 exit, 25 Tienen, N3 direction Sint-Truiden-Hasselt
    • From Antwerp: E313, exit 28 Hasselt, N80 direction Sint-Truiden
    • From Luik (Liège): E40, exit 28 Gingelom, N80 direction Sint-Truiden-Hasselt
  • By Taxi:
    • From Brussels: available at all train stations & National Brussels airport.
    • Available at all hotels and Train Stations in city Hasselt & city Sint-Truiden.
    • From Station Sint-Truiden: Taxi Uno: +32 - 468228555 / Taxi Atlas: +32 - 495773232 / Taxi Ivan:+32 - 499252524
    • From Hasselt station & hotels: 1)?Taxi Hasselt: 0491 95 67 56 / Royal TaxI Hasselt: +32 - 472020192 /(Hasselt Taxi company) -Taxi’s en minibus: Tel: +32 -11301020 /  +32-(0) 479/ 30 10 20 Email: info@hasseltse-taxi.com
  • (Taxi Brussels to Hasselt 120 euro, taxi & mini- bus (8p) Hasselt to Sint-Truiden 40 euro).


Broadcast rights
The competition reserves the right to broadcast live, record and videotape all rounds.
The applicants grant the organization the right to make use of photos, biographical information as well as recording copyright. 

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