Several concerto competitions are held annually in various categories. Winners appear as soloists with one of the orchestras in a public concert in John C. Borden Auditorium. Only those students who have been enrolled in the Precollege Division for at least one year prior to the competition and are in good academic standing are eligible to compete.
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Students ages 16 and over are required to play the entire concerto. Students ages 15 and under are required to perform one movement. Each winner performs with one of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division orchestras.
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1. Concerto competitions are open to students who are enrolled at Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. Students may enter the concerto competition on their primary instrument only. Students must also be in good standing in their classes. Poor attendance, lack of punctuality and poor grades will result in ineligibility.
2. Students must have attended Manhattan School of Music for a period of at least one year to be eligible for concerto competitions.
3. An official concerto competition entry form, available in the Precollege Office, must be submitted and signed by the primary teacher by the deadline for each competition. Rules and regulations for each competition are listed separately and are available online and in the Precollege Office. It is recommended that you consult the approved repertoire list well in advance of the deadline for submissions.
4. Music for all instruments must be memorized. The only exception will be for groups of three or more performers.
5. A list of concertos is available online and in the Precollege Office. Exceptions to the approved list of concertos may be made and approved by the Dean in advance of the deadline. Approval is dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, approval by the private teacher, jury grades, attendance, and appropriateness of current size and personnel of orchestras. Concertos performed in the previous two academic years are not acceptable for competition entry. (The list of previously performed concertos is available here.)
6. The Precollege Division reserves the right to add or remove repertoire from the approved Concerto list based on the size and personnel of the current Precollege orchestras.
7. The Precollege Division reserves the right to place winning students with the orchestra it feels is appropriate. Although we try to schedule students for performances in the academic year in which they won, some students may be assigned to perform in the following year. Students must perform the movement with which they won the competition.
8. Winning students will perform a maximum of 14-15 minutes. In rare cases, exceptions may occur with prior written approval of the Dean in consultation with the conductors.
9. Any student who has won a Manhattan School of Music Concerto Competition may not compete again in that age category, and must wait for two full years to enter in another category.
10. Some concerto scores are not owned by the MSM library and therefore must be rented, sometimes at high cost. If rental is necessary, the parents will be responsible for the rental amount. Teachers should make parents aware of this before a concerto is chosen.