Orchestras

Concerto/Aria/Composition Competition

Western Illinois University
Symphony Orchestra
2022-2023 Concerto/Aria/Composition Competition
Preliminary Round Due Date - November 4, 2022
Live Final Round - December 4, 2022

Eligibility

  1. Competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate full-time students.
  2. nstrumentalists and vocalists who wish to participate in the concerto/aria competition must be enrolled in private lessons AND ensemble(s) (with the exception of pianists).
  3. Instrumentalists and vocalists must be in good standing with their participation in ensemble(s).
  4. Competition winners from the previous year (2021-2022) are ineligible for a period of one year.
  5. Winners must be available to perform in the Concerto/Aria concert on March 2, 2023.

Jury

  • The concerto/aria preliminary round will be judged by the WIU applied faculty. Following the preliminary round, the faculty will advance up to three performers from each area.
  • For the final round of the concerto/aria competition, there will be three judges from outside of the Western Illinois University community. No faculty at WIU will be involved with the judging of the final round.
  • The composition competition will be judged by the WIU composition faculty and the Orchestra Director.

Repertoire

  • All concerto/aria competition repertoire must be approved by the Director of Orchestral Activities prior to entry.
  • Composition entries must be submitted as a PDF and must be notated clearly using software (Sibelius, Finale, LilyPond, etc.)
  • The maximum time limit for any piece is 20 minutes.

Preliminary Video and Composition Submission

  1. Instrumentalists and vocalists must submit a preliminary video recording through the Preliminary Round Form by November 4, 11:59PM.
  2. There is no preliminary round for composers. Composition entries are due on December 4 at 11:59PM and can be submitted here.
  3. Preliminary round results will be announced by November 9.
  4. Finalists must submit a Finalist Form by December 1 and will need to upload their scores for the judges. Piano reductions are acceptable.
  5. Finalists will perform their repertoire on November 19 in COFAC Recital Hall. Specific times for the competition will be announced later.
  6. Instrumentalists and vocalists are required to perform all rounds with a collaborative pianist.
  7. Memorization is highly encouraged.