RIVERSIDE ORCHESTRA

STUDENT CONCERTO COMPETITON


The Riverside Orchestra is thrilled to announce its first Student Concerto Competition! The competition is open to talented students who live or study within the five boroughs of New York City and who would like the opportunity to perform with a full symphony orchestra at a concert on May 9, 2025, at Trinity School at 91st and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan.

Rules

Instrumentalists must be between ages 12 and 20 (singers up to age 22) as of October 1, 2024, and be prepared to perform one movement of a solo (one-player) concerto or an equivalent piece. Students may perform on any instrument, including vocalists, but excluding piano due to space limitations of the orchestra’s concert venue. 

Applicants should choose a selection (complete movement/scene/aria) between 5-12 minutes in length; selections outside this length are not eligible. The selection should be performed from memory in all rounds and is the piece you would perform with the orchestra if selected, 

Round 1 is online.  Please apply through this link. ADD LINK All materials must be submitted by midnight Friday, December 13, 2024.

For this round, we require:

  • Contact information for the student, a designated family member, and teacher;

  • Audio or video of the piece, performed/recorded with piano accompaniment;

  • A PDF copy of your music (solo or piano reduction); and

  • A $20 entry fee is payable here. To complete the registration process, you will need the 17-digit confirmation ID (from PayPal’s receipt email) or the 19-digit Transaction ID from Venmo.

Round 1 results will be emailed to competitors on or before Friday, January 3, 2024. If selected, finalists must confirm they accept this within 48 hours of receiving their Round 1 result so we can finalize a schedule for Round 2. 

Round 2 will be in person on the afternoon of Saturday, January 25, 2025. Approximately 4-6 finalists will be invited to audition in person for a panel of the music director and orchestra members at The National Opera Center at 330 7th Avene (7th Floor) in Manhattan. We anticipate having one hour for sound checks starting at noon and beginning performances at about 1:30 p.m. 

Winners will receive invitations to perform with the Riverside Orchestra on May 9, 2025, at Trinity School with the requirement that they be able to rehearse and perform with the orchestra and coordinate with the orchestra’s music director. (The orchestra rehearses Monday evenings from 7:15 to 9:45 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan; the dress rehearsal will be at Trinity School on Thursday, May 8, 2025, starting at 7:15 pm.)  The orchestra also requires performer biographies (200-word limit) and a photo for the concert program three weeks before the performance.

Please ensure that your performance is uploaded to a service (such as YouTube, Vimeo or another streaming service) with the link viewable to “anyone with the link,” as we don’t want to miss out!

Will my piece be acceptable?

Probably. The Riverside Orchestra is an excellent orchestra and plays repertoire from a wide variety of composers and level of difficulty (for the orchestra). Works that require music to be rented from publishers are acceptable. 

Eligibility Questions

 If you have questions about whether your piece will be acceptable or require other clarifications about eligibility, please email competition@riversideorchestra.org by Monday, November 25, 2024.

Click here to apply.

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