Roche

Roche is a Main Sponsor of Lucerne Festival and a Partner of the Lucerne Festival Academy.

Roche Commissions is a unique and pioneering collaboration between Roche, Lucerne Festival, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. Since 2003, Roche has worked with these partners to award regular commissions for new orchestral works to some of the world’s most talented contemporary composers. Roche Commissions provides a natural continuation of Roche’s long-term commitment to supporting arts and culture, and to stimulating innovation.

A total of 13 composers have each been awarded a Roche Commission, with their compositions being premiered at Lucerne Festival in Summer. The next work commission has been awarded to the Austrialian composer Liza Lim for 2026.

In an extended partnership with Lucerne Festival and the Lucerne Festival Academy, Roche has launched Roche Young Commissions in 2013.  In this biannual series, two young composers are commissioned to compose orchestral works. Working closely with two young conductors and under the guidance of Jörg Widmann, Artistic Director of the Lucerne Festival Academy, the Roche Young Commissions awardees are given two years to complete their compositions, which are also presented to the public during the Summer Festival in Lucerne. The inaugural world premiere of the Roche Young Commissions series took place in the summer of 2015. With new works by the Spanish composer Guillem Palomar and the German composer Jakob Raab, we will be celebrating the sixth edition of the Roche Young Commissions in the summer of 2025.

By working together, Roche and Lucerne Festival contribute to creating something new and innovative. Roche Commissions and Roche Young Commissions offer artists in contemporary music the challenge and opportunity to forge new possibilities in their specific field. The outstanding works of music produced by Roche’s commissioned composers are an enduring expression and manifestation of Roche’s commitment to innovation.