Audition Application for the Student Concerto Competition

USU Symphony Orchestra

Rules & Guidelines

  1. The competition is open to all students registered and participating in Department of Music activities during Fall, 2024. The final auditions will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM in FAC room 214, and are open to the public. Competition winners will be awarded the opportunity to perform at the Wednesday, February 26, 2025 USU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Evening the solo work with which they auditioned.
  2. The on-line Application Form must be submitted no later than Friday, November 15. Late applications will not be accepted.
  3. All applicants must indicate in the Application Form their choice of work to be performed. The selection must be approved by the applicant's instructor. Additional approval is needed from the orchestra director as pertains to the type of solo work, availability of the instruments specified in the orchestral score, availability of the performance materials that would be used in the concert, and availability of the piano reduction to be used by the jury members at the final audition. Students are advised to ask the orchestra director any questions they may have before submitting their application.
  4. As soon as the student submits the Application Form, the system will send an email asking the instructor to indicate by email if they approve the selected work.
  5. It is requested that instructors approve only those applications of students who can perform the music with accuracy and fluency together with their accompanist, and that instructors notify no later than Tuesday, November 25 of any withdrawals determined at studio/area auditions.
  6. All applicants will receive email notifications about the status of their application. If the music with which a participant is competing is not already in the competition library and is not available on IMSLP, the applicant will be required to submit a clearly legible letter-size PDF with standard margins of the piano reduction, including cadenza(s). The PDF should not show any handwritten markings.
  7. Students may only apply as single soloists (not as members of a duo or ensemble of soloists). Only one entry per applicant will be accepted.
  8. Students may apply to perform a solo work in one movement, or one movement from a solo work of several movements. Exception is made for works that have more than one part but are generally considered to be in one movement (such as full Theme and Variations compositions), or complete multimovement works lasting less than 15 minutes (such as short song cycles and early Baroque concerti).
  9. Candidates will be considered to perform at the orchestra concert solely the music with which they are competing (and not a longer or shorter portion of it).
  10. In order to allow more students the opportunity to perform, students are eligible to win the competition a maximum of two times but not on two consecutive years.
  11. At the final audition, all competitors must perform by memory, perform with piano accompaniment, and provide their own accompanist.
  12. All competitors must play at the final audition the complete solo music with which they are competing. The duration of the audition will be estimated according to the duration of the music. The purely orchestral passages in the piano reduction should be abbreviated.
  13. Participants will audition in an order determined at random. Competing pianists who are also accompanying other competitors have the option to audition first, in an order determined at random, and must request by email no later than Tuesday, November 25 to be scheduled accordingly.
  14. The order of the final auditions will be posted on Monday, December 2. No changes will be made to the order of the audition. Participants who arrive late will lose their chance to audition.
  15. The jury of the final auditions will consist of a panel of Music Department and/or guest faculty members.
  16. The list of winners will be posted on the orchestra bulletin board no later than 9:00 PM on the day of the final auditions. All decisions of the jury are final. Comments about the audition will be available to interested competitors on appointment with the USU Symphony Orchestra director.

Questions about the audition application process can be directed to Professor Daniel Wachs.

Application Form

What is your current class ranking?
*Have you been a winner of the USU Symphony Orchestra Student Concerto Competition before?
Please include the duration of the movement in minutes.

By submitting this form, I hereby acknowledge that I have read, fully understand, and will abide by the Rules and Guidelines for this competition.