The Chapel Hill Philharmonia will hold its annual Concerto Competition on Saturday, February 9, 2013, from approximately 9:00 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. in the Hill Hall Auditorium on the UNC-CH campus.
The competition is open to pre-college musicians ages 13-18 as of Jan. 1, 2013. Contestants need to have either resided in Orange, Durham, Chatham, or Wake counties for at least 6 months prior to that date, OR have studied with a teacher based in one of these NC counties for the same period.
Participants should perform from memory one complete concerto movement or a comparable concert piece. Double and triple concertos are welcome, if all musicians meet the above requirements. It is necessary to enter with a collaborative pianist playing the orchestral reduction (competition co-coordinator Alice Tien, a professional pianist, may be available for hire). The CHP reserves the right to screen repertoire for appropriateness and programming purposes; if you have questions about this, check with Conductor Prof. Donald Oehler as soon as possible at dloehler@email.unc.edu. Orchestral parts must be available (Luck's Music Library is a helpful source for publishers: 1-800-348-8749).
Musicians who have either been invited to perform with another orchestra as of Jan. 1, 2013 or who have won another concerto competition as of Feb. 9, 2013, may enter the CHP competition with a different movement or work. Previous winners of the CHP competition may enter on a different instrument.
Though not precluded from winning, students may want to avoid concertos which the CHP performed in the last 2 years or will perform this season. Depending on the number of contestants, the judges might listen to the whole selection, or stop around 9 minutes. Contestants should make cuts only in the orchestral tutti.
The first-place winner will perform with the Chapel Hill Philharmonia at its Spring Concert, on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. A cash prize or prizes will be awarded.
The registration fee helps cover the competition costs and is non-refundable. The early-application deadline will be Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, with a fee of $30. The regular deadline will be Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, with a fee of $50. The complete application and fee must be received by these dates (not simply post-marked). If an early application is at all incomplete, it will be necessary to add $20. After Jan. 19 if an application is incomplete, it will not be considered.
No later than the respective deadlines, these 4 items must be received (not simply post-marked):
The schedule will be made about 2 weeks before the competition. After that if a time-conflict occurs, the contestant must arrange a trade with someone else; contact information will be provided. The volunteer competition coordinators will not make schedule-changes.
Entrants must bring three copies of the music (solo part or with orchestral reduction) to the competition; at least one must be an original.
Listeners are welcome; the audience should refrain from applause.
For questions regarding the competition, contact Alice Tien at (919) 806-0987 or ALICE_L_T@YAHOO.COM
See the Past Concerto Competition Winners page for bios and recordings of past winners.