Hangkeltő Young Composers’ Competition

The HangKELTŐ Young Composers’ Competition was created to encourage contemporary choral composition specifically for youth choirs. Developed by the ImPulzus Creative Music Lab and Divisart in collaboration with the Hangkeltő Foundation, the competition aimed to give young composers a platform while addressing the lack of musically and emotionally engaging repertoire available for the 12–18 age group.

The project focused on creating new works that are challenging yet singable for youth ensembles, while also encouraging reflection on contemporary themes and the realities of the 21st century.

The challenge

One of the key ideas behind the competition was recognizing a gap in the choral repertoire available for teenage singers. While younger children’s choirs have access to a rich educational repertoire and adult ensembles can perform highly sophisticated contemporary works, youth choirs often stand somewhere in between – technically capable of more complex music, yet lacking repertoire truly written for their generation.

The challenge was therefore not only organizational, but also conceptual: how to present contemporary choral music in a way that feels accessible, inspiring, and visually engaging for young composers, conductors, and singers alike.

Our work

Divisart developed the complete visual identity and communication system of the competition. The design approach was intentionally clean and flexible, allowing the focus to remain on the music and the composers themselves, while still creating a recognizable and youthful visual presence.

The logo became the foundation of the identity system. Its forms and graphic fragments evolved into colorful patterns and dynamic layouts used across the website, print materials, social media graphics, and promotional communication. We experimented extensively with color combinations and modular visual elements, creating a system that could feel contemporary without becoming visually overwhelming.

The result was a graphic language that reflected the spirit of the competition itself: structured yet playful, professional yet open to experimentation – much like the process of composing new music for young voices.

In addition to the visual communication, Divisart also supported the project’s organizational background, helping prepare the framework for the competition, submissions, and premiere concert.

Impact & ongoing vision

The HangKELTŐ competition created an opportunity for emerging composers to write directly for youth choirs and contribute to the renewal of contemporary choral repertoire. By encouraging works that speak to today’s young singers in both musical language and thematic focus, the project aimed to strengthen the connection between contemporary composition and youth music education.

For Divisart, the project represented an important intersection of design and cultural organization demonstrating how visual identity can support not only communication, but also the accessibility and long-term visibility of new musical initiatives.