Eligibility: The concerto competition is open only to members of the Spokane Youth Symphony Orchestra who are in good standing. Members may enter on the instrument they play in SYSO. All pieces must be played from memory in the preliminary and final competition. Up to three winners will be selected to perform with the Spokane Youth Symphony Orchestra at the March 16th concert at The Fox. Previous winners may not enter or win in a consecutive year.
Date and Location: The Concerto Competition will take place Sunday, January 19, 2024, 1:00-4:00 p.m. at Whitworth University’s Cowles Music Center.
Repertoire: Each entrant will perform, from memory, one movement of a standard concerto or concert piece, with cadenza. Entrants should consider the playability of their concerto by the Youth Symphony. Please consult with the Artistic Director Dr. Philip Baldwin, when choosing your piece. Concertos must be approved by Dr. Baldwin (signature required) prior to the deadline of December 16, 2024. (Please see SYS Concerto Competition Repertoire Guidelines below to see repertoire which will not be accepted, posted on the Concerto Competition page of our website, www.SpokaneYouthSymphony.org.)
Entrants will be given up to 10minutes to perform by memory. Exceptions to the time limit must be made with permission of the Artistic Director and at the discretion of the judges.
Accompanists: Competitors must arrange for their own accompanists. Spokane Youth Symphony will provide an accompanist of our choosing to work with those students who have a documented financial need. Please note the name of your accompanist on the application. We will try to accommodate accompanists when arranging the schedule.
Entrants must provide an original of the score and one copy (two total) to the judges during each competition.
The decision of the judges will be final. Please note: If, in the opinion of the Judges, no entrant meets the standard of performance, the award shall not be given.
Please make sure to include signatures of the applicant, parent or guardian, private music teacher, and Artistic Director/Conductor of Spokane Youth Symphony Orchestra. Applications must be postmarked by December 16, 2024, with the application feeof $50, which will help cover the competition costs. The fee is nonrefundable.
Rationale:
In order to keep costs reasonable and ensure that performance materials are available in a timely manner, the Spokane Youth Symphony respectfully requests that teachers and students choose repertoire that can be purchased, rather than rented. For string players, much of the student repertoire falls into this category. However, there are a number of 20th century string concertos such as works by Kabalevsky, Khachaturian, Hindemith, Bartok, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev which are rental only.
There are also many works for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, and Trombone which can be purchased or are in the public domain. However, we recognize that many works were written after 1922, and therefore are frequently only available as rental materials.
We ask all teachers to avoid rental pieces, unless they happen to be the work selected that year by MusicFest Northwest. In that case, the SYS will share the rental cost with the winning participants in an equable manner.
How can I check a piece whether a piece can be purchased or is Rental only?
Try both of these methods before submitting a concerto application.
IMSLP: https://imslp.org
Search by composer title. If the piece is in the public domain, there will frequently be parts and scores available. However, if the parts are not available, then check Luck’s Music.
Luck’s Music: https://www.lucksmusic.com/
Search by composer and title. If the listing does not show a price but says “Performance materials available from…” then it is rental only.
Restricted 20th Century String concertos—DO NOT PROGRAM THESE WORKS EXCEPT AS MENTIONED ABOVE:
This is a list of common string literature which is known to be rental only. Please avoid these pieces! However, the Elgar Cello Concerto, some of Bloch’s works for violin, viola and cello, Ravel’s Tzigane, Prokofiev Violin Concerto #1, and the Sibelius Violin Concerto are all acceptable.
Violin Concertos
Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 and 2
Berg: Violin Concerto, Op. 35
Bernstein: Serenade
Bolcom: Violin Concerto
Britten: Violin Concerto, Op. 15
Gubaidulina: Offertorium
Hindemith: Violin Concerto
Kabalevsky: Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 48
Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D minor
Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Ligeti: Violin Concerto
Martinu: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Nielsen: Violin Concerto Op. 33
Penderecki: Violin Concerto #1 and#2
Prokofiev: No. 2 in g minor, Op. 63
Schoenberg: Violin Concerto, op. 36
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos: No. 1 and No. 2
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto
Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
Walton: Violin Concerto in B minor
Viola Concertos
Bartok: Concerto
Harbison: Concerto
Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher
Martinu: Rhapsody Concerto
Walton: Concerto
Cello Concertos
Barber: Cello Concerto
Bridge: Oration
Dohnanyi: Konzertstuck
Enescu: Cello Concerto
Finzi: Cello Concerto
Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto
Myaskovsky: Cello Concerto
Penderecki: Cello Concerto #1 and 2
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto #1 and #2
Tavener: The Protecting Vail
Bass Concertos
Edgar Meyer, Concerto in D
Gordon Jacob, Concerto
Koussevitsky, Concerto
Lyashenko, Concerto