GRYS Piano Concerto Competition

Each year the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony sponsors a Piano Concerto Competition for talented West Michigan student pianists. The winner receives a $300 cash prize and performs with the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony at its February Winter Concert.

Eligibility

  • Pianists ages 15 to 21 are invited to compete. A contestant must be at least age 15 but not yet age 21 by January 1 of the performance year.

  • Competitors must have a residence in one of the following Michigan counties: Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren. Competitors may be attending college or university outside of these counties if their primary residence is in one of these counties. Additionally, contestants are eligible if they are attending any college or university based in one of these counties.

  • Competitors may win the competition only once.

Note: There is no requirement for music club affiliation.

Repertoire

  • The choice of piece is up to the contestant, but it must be a work, or a movement of a work, for piano and orchestra. The following pieces are ineligible: Haydn Piano Concerto in D, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2.

  • The piece must be pre-approved by the Music Director prior to submitting an application. The applying student must email jschut@grsymphony.org and CC their lesson teacher for approval. This ensures the work is of manageable orchestral difficulty and orchestral parts are available.

  • The piece’s total playing time must be at least 8 minutes and not more than 16 minutes long.

  • The audition piece will be the piece performed if the contestant wins.

  • The work must be performed from memory at the audition.

  • Contestants are not required to be accompanied for the audition upload video.

Application

  • The application will be available in September, and the deadline to submit the application is December 1. A complete application includes a video upload and a $40 application fee.

Awards

  • Winner: $300 plus the opportunity to perform with the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony at The DeVos Center for Arts and Music, (located on the campus of GR Christian HS) at its February Winter Concert.

  • Alternate: $50 and the opportunity to perform if the winner is unavailable.

For questions, please contact the GRYS&CO Manager at mroesler@grsymphony.org.