WFS 2026 Young Artists Competition
Applicant Entries must be electronically submitted no later than November 1, 2026 and be accompanied by the completed application form, and a signed recommendation from the applicant’s music teacher. Submission must be video. Audio recordings will not be accepted. Applicants selected for the performance round will be notified by November 1. Send a link to your video to sfchim@msn.com.
November 1 - Deadline for receipt of applications and videos. Applications will be reviewed and copies of performances will be distributed to each judge. Judges will judge independently.
November 11 - Participants notified of results. Audition instructions will be sent to finalists.
December 8 - Winners will be notified.
After January 7 - Rehearsals begin with orchestra. Your individual times will be scheduled. We realize that you play in other ensembles and will do our very best to schedule around those. Expect to come to 3 rehearsals before the concert.
February 21 - Concert with Willamette Falls Symphony. 3:00 pm.
Winners will each receive a $100 cash award.
All youth who are 12-19 years old at the time of the 2026 competition are eligible to participate. The competition is for bowed strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion (no piano).
Candidates will each perform one movement from an orchestral concerto or a short piece for solo instrument plus orchestra, between 5 and 10 minutes in total duration (including all orchestral and soloist passages, from start to finish). Note: This time limitation is only for the contest. Cutting a piece short in order to comply with the requirement will in no way affect the decision of the judges. To win, the candidate’s audition must be judged to be performance- ready, so candidates should select music accordingly. Music must be currently in print and readily available to the orchestra at a reasonable price.
The audition should be performed with piano accompaniment.
Candidates will be judged on the following: articulation, difficulty of music, dynamics, expression, intonation, rhythm, stage presence, style, technique and tone.
There will be up to 3 winners at the discretion of the judges.
Winners of previous Willamette Falls Symphony Youth Concerto Competitions are not eligible to participate in the competition.
Participation is limited to the first 25 applications received.
Electronic Submission Deadline Nov. 1, 2026
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Signed recommendation from the student’s music instruction
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Link to a youtube of a link to a dropbox of the students performance to sfchim@msn.com
Submitting an application fee: A check of $20 should be sent to:
Willamette Falls Symphony
PO Box 1251,
Oregon City, OR 97045
PRIVATE TEACHER RECOMMENDATION:
Please have your private teacher submit a recommendation to sfchim@msn.com by Nov. 1. They should describe your passion, work ethic, skill, and reliability.
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