The Quartet of Cardinals Competition has now officially closed.
Celebrating a Quarter Century (2000-2025) of #ProgressInPlay
Competitions Enabling Musicians to Reach Their True Potential
We are delighted to confirm that the 2025 Quartet of Cardinals competition attracted a huge response, with entries received from brass musicians across all corners of the world, each entering their brass band for this unique and prestigious prize.
The draw will now take place on 20 December. The winning band will be contacted directly and invited to accept the award subject to the terms and conditions of the competition. Upon acceptance, a representative of the winning band will be invited to attend the European Brass Band Championships (EBBC) in Linz, where the Quartet of Cardinals will be presented at the Geneva Instruments trade stand. Should attendance at EBBC not be possible, alternative arrangements for the presentation will be made.
If the selected band chooses not to accept the award under the prescribed competition conditions below, the prize will be re‑drawn from the original pool of eligible entrants. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all bands and musicians who entered the competition and helped make it such a success.
This competition has been conducted as a Prize Competition and run in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, including the relevant provisions of the Gambling Act 2005.
Watch this space as the Quartet of Cardinals 2026 will return and launched 25 April 2026 @ EBBC
Looking ahead, we are pleased to announce that in 2026 the Quartet of Cardinals Competition will return with an exciting new format. In addition to the standard entry form, bands will be invited to submit a short video as part of their entry — more details to follow in due course.
Quartet of Cardinals 2025 Competition Terms & Conditions
- The competition is open to any traditional Brass Band in the world i.e. those brass ensembles using a combination of Cornet, Flugel Horn, Tenor Horn, Baritone, Euphonium and Tuba
- To be entered into the draw the person entering their Brass Band to ‘Win A Quartet of Cardinal Instruments’ must:
- Be a playing member of the Brass Band
- Complete the entire entry form and answer the question correctly
- Enter their contact details and that of their Brass Band
- 25 entries maximum per Brass Band
- The competition will be open from 9th May 2025 – 15th December 2025
- Draw will be 20th December 2025
- The winning Brass Band will receive:
- 1 x Cardinal Bb Cornet
- 1 x Cardinal Bb Flugel Horn
- 1 x Cardinal Eb Tenor Horn
- 1 x Cardinal Bb Euphonium
- The winning Band agrees to be bound:
- To play and maintain the Quartet of Cardinal Instruments within their Brass Band performances for a minimum of 2 years from receipt
- To allow and assist Geneva Instruments to promote their Brass Band activity through joint press releases in the 2 years from receipt
- If the Band is not able to meet the agreement in any part prior or following receipt, then the instruments will be returned to Geneva Instruments and a redraw will assign them to another Brass Band who entered the original competition
- On completion of the 2 years the instruments will become the unbound property of the holding Brass Band.