SJYS Concert Orchestra’s Solo Competition
The San Jose Youth Symphony’s Concert Orchestra holds its annual Solo Competition every spring, proudly sponsored by the San Jose Symphony Foundation.
This year, the competition will take place on Monday night, April 13, 2015, 8 pm, during the second half of rehearsal in the Sanctuary of Los Gatos United Methodist Church (LGUMC) in Los Gatos. The competition will not replace the regularly scheduled rehearsal. All members not participating in the competition will be expected to stay as audience members and attend the contestants’ performances.
Please read the following page carefully and thoroughly to familiarize yourself with the competition’s rules and guidelines.
- The Solo Competition is open only to members of the Concert Orchestra;
- Members of the Concert Orchestra may not compete in the year they are graduating from SJYS
- Winners of the competition will perform their piece in one of the Concert Orchestra’s concerts scheduled for the following season, and will receive a monetary prize in the form of a discount applicable towards the following season’s member tuition:
1st prize – $300
2nd prize – $200
3rd prize – $100 - SJYS cannot guarantee that the winners will be able to perform their piece in its entirety as it depends on the length of the piece and its instrumentation.
General Information
Application Process
- Applications are being accepted from now until January 31, 2015. No new applications will be accepted after this deadline;
- Dowload and fill out the Solo Competition application form and then mail the completed form to the SJYS Office with a $40 application fee, by check made payable to “SJYS;”
- All applications will be prescreened. Applicants will be selected for the competition and will be announced within two weeks from the application filing deadline;
- SJYS will schedule a performance time and will notify the applicant of the assigned time no later than two weeks prior to the competition date;
- All applicants must be on call to perform at any time during the evening of the competition, in case of potential last-minute schedule changes.
- Contestants may play any orchestral instrument;
- Double or Triple concertos are accepted;
- Vocalists or pianists or non-orchestral instrumental musicians may not apply;
- Contestants are not permitted to enter the competition with a concerto that was performed by the Concert Orchestra during the previous year;
- SJYS strongly recommends that contestants choose pieces from the sample list posted below on this page;
- If the applicant wishes to perform a concerto that is not included in the sample list, he/she must submit a request for approval from SJYS by November 15, 2014;
- SJYS will notify the applicant by the end of January whether the concerto selected is acceptable, based on the level of the piece, instrumentation and other relevant factors;
- All contestants must prepare at least two full contrasting movements from their concerto. SJYS highly encourages Concert Orchestra members to play their piece from memory, although it is not required;
- All contestants must provide their own accompanist for the competition;
- All contestants must bring three copies of the piano score of the music performed for the judges;
- Contestants who arrive after their assigned time will not be allowed to perform. Please plan to arrive early and warm up in the room provided;
- Contestants may not exchange audition times with other contestants.
- The competition wil be divided into three categories: strings, woodwinds/brass, and double/triple concertos;
- No more than three winners will be chosen. The judges have the right to choose no winners in the event that the level of performance does nto meet the standards of competition. The decision of the judges is final;
- SJYS members and parents are welcom to attend the competition as observers;
- SJYS expects that the winners keep their performance level as high or higher by the first rehearsal date with the orchestra. There will be a mandatory meeting with the conductor one month prior to the first rehearsal date, where the winners are expected to demonstrate their competence in performing the work.
Competition Rules
The Competition
Sample List of Accepted Concerti for The Solo Competition
Flute
Chaminade – Concertino op. 107
Haydn – Concerto
Mozart – Andante K. 315
Mozart – Concertos No. 1or 2
Oboe
Albinoni – Concertos, op.7 No. 3, and op. 9 No. 2
Bellini – Concerto E- flat major
Cimarosa – Concerto c minor
Donizetti – Concertino F major
Haydn – Concerto
Marcello – Concerto c minor
Mozart – Concerto K. 314
Clarinet
Mozart – Concerto K.622
Weber,C.M. – Concertos No. 1or 2, Concertino op. 26.
Bassoon
Mozart – Concerto
Weber, C.M. – Concerto op.75
Horn
Haydn – Concertos No.1 or 2
Mozart – Concertos No. 1 or 3
Trumpet
Haydn – Concerto
Hummel – Concerto
Trombone
Baroque concertos; L.Mozart.
Violin
Accolay – Concerto
J.S. Bach – Concertos No. 1 & 2
Beethoven – Romances op. 40 & op.50
Bruch – Concerto No. 1 in g minor
Dvorak – Romance in f minor op. 11
Haydn – Concertos no. 1 in C and no. 2 in G
Mozart – Concertos No. 3, 4 or 5
Viotti – Concerto No. 23
Vivaldi – any concerto
Wieniawski – Legende Op. 17, Concerto in d minor Op. 22
Viola
J.C. Bach – Concerto
Handel – Concerto
Hoffmeister – Concerto
Telemann – Concerto
Stamitz – Concerto in D Major
Violoncello
Boccherini (Grutzmacher) – Concerto in B-flat Major
Goltermann – Concertos
Haydn – Concerto No. 1&2
Vivaldi – any concerto
Double Bass
Bottesini – Concerto No. 2
Dragonetti – Concerto
Dittersdorf – Concerto
Double/triple concertos
Any combinations of solo instruments from Baroque, early Classical and Classical era.