Cape Ann Symphony Launches our Young Musicians Competition
A Young Musicians Competition is being conducted by the Cape Ann Symphony to give a music student on the North Shore the opportunity to play with the Cape Ann Symphony and work with Maestro Udagawa.
The Young Musicians' Competition is open to music students in grades 6-12 on the North Shore. Players of orchestral instruments, other than piano, are encouraged to submit a video audition to the Cape Ann Symphony.*
The winner of the competition will be invited to perform with the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Udagawa, at the Cape Ann Symphony’s Holiday Pops concert on November 30th at 7:30pm in Manchester-by-the-Sea as well as receive a $1000 scholarship to support his or her music education.
Maestro Udagawa is excited to introduce the competition this year and mentor the next generation of musicians, "Made possible by the generosity of Dr. Ed and Mrs. Ann Marsh, we are having our first Young Musicians' Competition this year. The amazing level of music talent of young people today is inspiring and makes all of us very optimistic about the future. Never have so many young musicians played at such a high level — and we are really looking forward to performing with the winner."
Symphony Board President Fran White echoes Udagawa's excitement, "Cape Ann Symphony continues to grow and this year for the first time we are reaching out to talented students throughout the North Shore to give them the chance to work with Maestro Udagawa and perform with the orchestra. We are so grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Marsh for their generous contribution which has allowed us to introduce this program and expand our outreach."
*The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2019. For submission guidelines please click the button below or phone 978 281 0543.
Competition Guidelines
The competition is open to young music students of orchestral instruments in grades 6-12 who have not yet graduated High School as of September 30th 2019. Orchestral instruments only.
This competition is open to students enrolled in grades 6-12 in the following municipalities: Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Essex, Ipswich, Topsfield, Rowley, Newburyport, Hamilton/Wenham, Salem & Marblehead, OR currently studying with a member of the Cape Ann Symphony.
The winner of the competition will be invited to perform with the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa, at the Cape Ann Symphony’s Holiday Pops concert on November 30th at 7:30pm in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
The competition is made up of two rounds. Applicants should submit a short video via link to YouTube in the first round. The applicant must audition with the same piece he/she wishes to perform with the CAS. The chosen music selections should be between 5-8 minutes long, may be abbreviated to facilitate time frame, and available on IMSLP (https://imslp.org/ - be in the public domain). The deadline for video submissions is September 30th 2019.
Final Round: The jury will select 6-8 finalists to audition from memory in front of a live jury on October 12th 2019, 10-12pm, location TBD. All students must provide their own accompanist for the final round.
First Prize winner will be awarded a $1000 stipend to be used to further his/her music studies. The winner must agree to attend all rehearsals for this event as scheduled by Mr. Udagawa.
