Competition

The AYO Young Artist Concerto Competition is held each January, and open to any student who is a member of the Repertory Youth Orchestra (RYO) or the Atlantic Youth Orchestra (AYO), and who has not reached 20 years of age by January 1st. The competition winner will perform in the Spring Semester Concert accompanied by the AYO. If any contestant is selected as “Honorable Mention,” they may be asked to perform for a spring Honors Recital.

Important Dates:

Concerto Competition Rules

Applicants must perform one movement of a concerto, or a solo piece with a published string or full orchestral accompaniment. Students may audition on their orchestra instrument only. This piece must have the approval of the AYO Executive Director. Although the application deadline is November 7, it would be a good idea to email the AYO office for approval of your piece before you spend weeks practicing a piece that may not be appropriate. Contestants are required to perform from memory, with piano accompaniment, for the competition audition.

Please Note: Contestants must engage their own accompanist and the accompanist must be approved by your AYO Conductor. This information is REQUIRED on the application. At the audition, contestants are required to bring three copies of their piece to be performed for the adjudication committee. Photocopies will be accepted but will be destroyed after the audition. Please give your copies to the person at the registration desk upon arrival on the day of the Competition audition.

Parents/teachers are welcome to attend, and with advance permission, may record or video tape their child/student’s performance. The student who was chosen as winner of this competition the previous year cannot be selected as the winner two years consecutively. This student may enter the competition for comments only.

Previous Winners