Competition
for Young Musicians
for Young Musicians
General Information
Annual Competition for Young Musicians
The Livermore-Amador Symphony Association will conduct its 51st Competition for Young Musicians on the afternoon of October 15, 2023. The competition will be held in the Mertes Center for the Arts at Las Positas College. The winner(s) will perform as soloist(s) with the Symphony on February 10, 2024, and be awarded $500.00. The competition is open to instrumentalists and vocalists who reside in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, the City of Tracy, or the community of Mountain House, California. The maximum age at the time of the February 10, 2024, concert is 19.
Applicants must submit a non-refundable fee of $25.00, a completed application form, and, for preliminary screening, a recording of themselves playing the solo to be performed at their audition.
Fee of $25:
The “Competition Fee” button below will open the LAS PayPal donations site, where you may pay the $25 by credit or debit card. Since this PayPal site is also used for regular donations to the Symphony, to avoid confusion, please include a note that this is a Competition Application Fee, with the name of the competitor. Or, write a check for $25 payable to Livermore-Amador Symphony Association and mail it to Livermore-Amador Symphony, c/o 744 Polaris Way, Livermore CA 94550. (Make checks payable to Livermore-Amador Symphony Association.) Please include your address and contact information.
Application Form:
Please fill out the application form and submit it by mail or email as instructed at the bottom of the form.
Video:
Please post a recording video to YouTube and send a link via email to competition@livermoreamadorsymphony.org.
Applications will be accepted starting on September 23, 2023. The deadline is Sunday, October 1, 2023. Music should be chosen from the standard repertoire for orchestra. The selection, one movement of a concerto or a comparable work, should be between 10 and 15 minutes in length.
The following compositions are not to be chosen.
(They were performed by the Symphony in 2022–2023 or will be performed by LAS in 2023–2024.)
Flute: Flute Concerto by Ibert, movement 3
Horn: Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major by R. Strauss, movement 1
Piano: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major by Mozart, movement 1, and
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor by Beethoven
Violin: Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang
Voice: Becoming a Redwood by Laitman
Horn: Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major by R. Strauss, movement 1
Piano: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major by Mozart, movement 1, and
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor by Beethoven
Violin: Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang
Voice: Becoming a Redwood by Laitman
For the preliminary screenings, recordings for non-pianists should have piano accompaniment. For piano recordings, accompaniment is not essential. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the preliminary screening.
Those accepted to compete will be expected to perform in person on Sunday afternoon, October 15, 2023, before a panel of judges, including the Music Director, in the Mertes Center for the Arts at Las Positas College. Contestants must provide their own accompanists. Each student who participates will receive a written evaluation. Taken into consideration are intonation, tone quality, technique, style/interpretation, and memorization.
Winners, as soloists, perform the same music with which they competed. Previous winners of this competition may reapply after an intervening year. However, anyone who has performed two times as a soloist with the Symphony cannot be considered as a contestant.
If you have any questions, you may contact Competition Committee Chair Anne Badders (competition@livermoreamadorsymphony.org or 925.606.5797).
Past Winners
See a list of past winners and the pieces they played, from the 1973–74 through 2022–23 seasons.
See photos of winners from the 2011–12 through 2022–23 seasons.
© Livermore-Amador Symphony Association