2027 SMTD Concerto Competition

Competition Guidelines

Goals

1. To offer students an opportunity to appear as soloists with a large ensemble.
2. To present outstanding SMTD students to the public in a program in which diversity is desired, but excellence in performance is the fundamental requirement.

Eligibility

1. Only students who are enrolled in a music degree program in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance or a music degree program in the Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies are eligible to compete.
2. Juniors and seniors will compete in the Undergraduate Competition. Junior standing is determined as 55 credit hours on a student’s record at the end of Fall Term 2026.
   1. Students must have also completed any requirements by their respective department to be considered a junior or senior, such as (but not limited to) barrier interviews, juries, and/or required coursework, as confirmed by the department chair.
3. Graduate students will compete together in the Graduate Competition.
4. Winners of the Finals Competition will not be eligible to compete again in the Concerto Competition.

Rules

1. All compositions must be memorized for all rounds of this competition.
2. Questions regarding the eligibility of contestants, and all other matters not covered in these regulations, shall be referred to the Chairperson of the Competition. The Chairperson of the Competition shall be designated by the Dean from SMTD’s senior leadership, and must hold a background in a music discipline.

Repertoire

1. Acceptable repertoire for this competition shall consist of a complete concerto, a single movement or several movements of a concerto, arias, and other short works accompanied by an orchestra or wind ensemble. Although the full concerto will be performed in the public concert in its entirety, the full competition performance shall not exceed 25 minutes in length. If cuts are necessary for the competition, these are to be determined by the appropriate department. The repertoire of competitors offering partial concerti, arias, or short works shall not exceed 20 minutes in length.
   1. Specifics for Voice Repertoire: A complete work for voice and orchestra, a selection of songs from an orchestrated song cycle, a multi-movement work, concert arias, a selection of opera arias, or selections from a larger work (e.g. No. 2-5 of Richard Strauss’s Brentano Lieder, Op. 68). Musical Theater repertoire is not allowed. The repertoire of competitors offering partial concerti, arias, or short works shall not exceed 20 minutes in length.
2. All movements of the chosen works are to be performed in both the departmental audition and the Finals Competition, subject to the conditions stated above.

Departmental (Preliminaries)

1. Each performance department will hold auditions according to its own procedures. Each entrant must submit the entry form with all program information by 11:59 PM on Sunday, November 15th, 2026.
   1. Two undergraduate contestants shall be selected from each department for the Finals Competition.
   2. Two graduate contestants shall be selected from each department for the Finals Competition.
2. Contestants are selected from the following five categories: Piano/Keyboard, Voice & Opera, Strings, Winds & Percussion, and Organ
3. In addition to the two finalists provided to the Final Competition by each participating department, each department is also allowed to submit up to two ranked alternates per division. Alternates are not required to be submitted, however. These alternates will be asked to compete only in the event of one of the chosen finalists being unable to compete for any reason. Alternates who are competing in the Finals must be confirmed by the Monday prior to the competition to allow proper rehearsal scheduling and documentation in both the judges’ communication and the program creation. The first ranked alternate will be asked first, the second will be asked if the first-ranked alternate is unavailable for the competition or if both of the original finalists are unable to compete. If timings and competition order have already been announced, the alternate must take the original finalist’s dress rehearsal and concert window. In the situation that alternates are not able to fill the open competition slots, no other candidate can be put forth to represent that department.

The Finals Competition

1. The Order of Competition will be determined by random computerized drawing after all prelims have been completed.
   1. Once set by random computer drawing, the order of the competition cannot be changed.
2. Each student selected for the Finals Competition by their department will have one hour of practice time with their accompanist in Hill Auditorium before the day of their Finals Competition. Finalists will be contacted by Jonathan Mashburn prior to the semester break to request individual rehearsal slots (day and time).
3. The judges’ panel consists of faculty members from 10 music departments at SMTD.

Winners of the Finals Competition

1. The two undergraduate and the two graduate students receiving the most votes will be selected. Each winner must receive favorable votes from the majority of those voting.
2. In the event of a tie for second place, assuming there is an odd number of judges present, the panel of judges will cast an additional ballot to select the winner from those involved in the tie. In the event that there is an even number of judges present, the chairperson of the competition will also vote as a member of the jury in order to ensure that there is a clear result.
3. All winners will perform in a regularly scheduled concert of the University Symphony Orchestra, the University Philharmonia Orchestra, or the appropriate ensemble. Some performances may be in the subsequent academic year.