RIVERSIDE ORCHESTRA

STUDENT CONCERTO COMPETITION

Please note that the deadline for submission of online applications has passed. Check back with us next year!

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

Instrumentists must be age 12 to 20 (singers up to age 22) as of December 13, 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.  All materials must be submitted by 10pm ET, Friday, December 13, 2024.

For this round, we require:

  • Contact information for the student, a designated parent/legal guardian (for applicants under age 18), and teacher.

  • Audio or video of the piece, performed from memory & recorded with piano accompaniment

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

  • $20 entry fee.

  • Round 1 results will be emailed to all competitors on or before Monday, December 23, 2024. If selected, finalists must confirm they accept this invitation within 48 hours of receipt 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 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. We anticipate having one hour for sound checks starting at noon and beginning performances at about 1:30 p.m. ET, ending no later than 4:00 p.m. ET.

A winner, or winners, will be invited 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 pm on the Upper West Side of Manhattan; the dress rehearsal will be at Trinity School on Thursday, May 8, 2025, also 7:15 to 9:45 pm.)  The orchestra also requires performer biographies (200-word limit) for the concert program three weeks before the performance and a photo for concert promotion two months 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 that plays repertoire from a wide variety of composers and levels of musical challenges. 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, December 9, 2024.