Competition
for Young Musicians

 
February 2024 Concert to Featured Two Winners as Soloists
Competition winner Cara Wang Competition winner Connor Roham
The LAS concert on February 10, 2024, featured the two winners of the 51st annual Competition for Young Musicians.

Connor Roham played the 3rd movement of Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor by Chopin.

Cara Wang played the 1st and 2nd movements of the Cello Concerto in E Minor by Elgar.

General Information
Annual Competition for Young Musicians


The Livermore-Amador Symphony Association conducted its 51st Competition for Young Musicians on the afternoon of October 15, 2023. The competition was held in the Mertes Center for the Arts at Las Positas College. The winners performed as soloists with the Symphony at the Bankhead Theater on February 10, 2024, and be awarded $500.00. The competition was open to instrumentalists and vocalists who reside in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, the City of Tracy, or the community of Mountain House, California. The maximum age at the time of the February 10, 2024, concert was 19.

Applications for the 2023 competition were accepted starting on September 23, 2023. The deadline was October 1, 2023. Music was to be chosen from the standard repertoire for orchestra. The selection, one movement of a concerto or a comparable work, was to be between 10 and 15 minutes in length.

Those accepted to compete were expected to perform in person on Sunday afternoon, October 15, 2023, before a panel of judges, including the Music Director. Contestants provided their own accompanists. Each student who participated received a written evaluation. Taken into consideration were intonation, tone quality, technique, style/interpretation, and memorization.

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 2022–2023 or to be performed by LAS durimg the 2023–2024 season were not to be chosen.

Application

Applicants submitted 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 was filled out and submitted by mail or email.

Video: Applicants posted a recording video to YouTube and sent a link via email to competition@livermoreamadorsymphony.org. Recordings for non-pianists were to have piano accompaniment. For piano recordings, accompaniment was not essential. All applicants were notified of the outcome of the preliminary screening.

 
If you have any questions, you may contact Competition Committee Chair Anne Badders (competition@livermoreamadorsymphony.org or 925.606.5797).

Past Winners

See a list of past winners and the pieces they played, from the 1973–74 through 2023–24 seasons.

See photos of winners from the 2011–12 through 2022–23 seasons.

 
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© Livermore-Amador Symphony Association