YAC Overview

The Philharmonic Society of Arlington is again proud to sponsor the Young Artist Competitions for instrumental and vocal musicians under 30 years of age. The competition has been held yearly since 1965.  Our purposes are to identify, encourage and provide exposure to promising young musicians, to grant them an audition experience, and to honor the top winners in each category with an opportunity to perform with our orchestra and/or chorale. 
This year, there are 2 separate Competitions, to be held on the same day:

  • The Woods Competition, for musicians 18 years of age and under, will be held in the morning.
  • The Tannenwald Competiton, for musicians 19-29 years of age, will be held in the afternoon.

The 2013 competitions will be held on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in the First Parish Unitarian-Universalist First Parish Unitarian-Universalist Church, at 630 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA .
Prizes are provided by the estates of Peter E. Tannenwald and Leonard D. Woods.
 
About this year's competitions:

  • Tannenwald applicants must have a date of birth between April 21, 1983 and April 20, 1995, and must be able to audition after 12:00 noon on April 20, 2013.
  • Woods applicants must have a date of birth no earlier than April 21, 1995, and must be able to audition during the morning of April 20, 2013.
  • Each entrant must provide the contest committee with biographical information as requested on the application form. The application form is available here. 
  • A non-refundable application fee of $40 must be received no later than 1 week after the application is submitted. (Make check payable to Philharmonic Society of Arlington.)
    Send checks and supplemental material to:

Young Artist Competition
c/o Ms. Chris Kergaravat
94 William St.
Stoneham, MA 02180

  • Applications are due on or before March 10, 2013.
  • A limited number of auditions will be assigned in order of receipt of the applications. The audition schedule will be created when all audition slots have been filled. The contest committee makes all attempts to honor preferred times marked on the application.
  • Subsequent applicants will be put on a wait list. Vacancies will be filled by wait list applicants who have availability at the time of the vacancy.
  • The competition committee will return application fees if the audition schedule is filled, or if, in its judgment, the applicant does not have sufficient experience to qualify for the competition.
  • Contestants are expected to perform works of their choice, as indicated in advance on their applications. These selections must be solos (or excerpted solos) for instrument or voice with orchestral and/or choral accompaniment. The contestant must select the work(s) to perform by April 10, 2013.
  • During the audition, the contestant will be expected to perform the selections with an accompanist. Performances before the judges must be 12 minutes or shorter in duration. 
  • The contestants must provide their own accompanists. A list of known local accompanists is available upon request.
  • Contestants will be judged upon musicianship and quality of performance.
  • One First Prize winner will be selected in each of the two categories: 
    • The Peter E. Tannenwald Young Artist Performance Award winner will receive a prize of $1000 upon performing with a Philharmonic Society performing organization during its 2013-2014 season.  A $650 Second prize and a $350 Third prize will also be awarded in this competition. 
    • The Leonard D. Wood Award winner will receive a prize of $500 and, at the discretion of the Society's musical directors, may be asked to perform with the orchestra or chorus.  A $350 Second prize and a $150 Third Prize will be awarded in the Wood Award category.
  • Contestants will not have access to the audition site prior to the day of the auditions.
  • Contestants will be notified of the judges' decisions not later than one week after the auditions.
  • The application form is available here.