Our concert on February 14, 2026,
will feature these three winners as soloists.
 

General Information
Annual Competition for Young Musicians

Every fall, the Livermore-Amador Symphony Association conducts its Competition for Young Musicians. Our 2025–2026 season marks the 53rd annual competition. The winners will perform as soloists with the Symphony at the Bankhead Theater on February 14, 2026, and will be awarded $750.00. 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. For this season, Piano and String applicants were to be 19 or younger as of February 14, 2026; Vocal, Wind, Brass, Percussion, and Harp applicants were to be 22 or younger as of February 14, 2026.

Applications for the 2025 competition were accepted from September 21 to September 28, 2025. Music was to be chosen from the standard repertoire for orchestra. The selection, one movement of a concerto or a comparable work, was expected to be between 5 and 15 minutes in length.

Those accepted to compete performed in person on Sunday afternoon October 12, 2025, before a panel of judges including the Music Director. Contestants provided their own accompanists. Each student who participated received a written evaluation. Intonation, tone quality, technique, style/interpretation, and memorization were taken into consideration.

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.

Compositions performed by the Symphony in 2024–2025 or to be performed by LAS in 2025–2026 were not to be chosen.

 
Application

Applicants 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.

Application form:
The application form is filled out and submitted by mail or email. (The 2025 form is provided for your reference.)

Video: Applicants must post a recording video to YouTube and email a link to competition@livermoreamadorsymphony.org. For piano recordings, accompaniment is not essential. All applicants are notified of the outcome of the preliminary screening.

 
If you have any questions, you may contact Competition Committee Chair Anne Badders (competition@livermoreamadorsymphony.org).

Past Winners

See a list of past winners and the pieces they played, from the 1973–74 through 2024–25 seasons.

See photos of winners from the 2011–12 through 2024–25 seasons.

© Livermore-Amador Symphony Association