SMTD Concerto Competition
Music students compete in the Undergraduate Concerto Competition and the Graduate Concerto Competition, held annually at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
The 2027 Concerto Competition finals will take place in Hill Auditorium on January 14-15, 2027.
About
The SMTD Concerto Competition has two phases, beginning with departmental preliminary rounds in five categories – organ, piano/keyboard, strings, voice, winds & percussion. Each department advances up to two undergraduate and two graduate students to compete in the finals, which are held over two days each January. The judges’ panel consists of faculty members from 10 music departments at SMTD.
Winners earn the honor of performing a concerto, aria, or other short work at a future concert of one of SMTD’s large ensembles in the storied Hill Auditorium. They also win a monetary award, known as the Bossart Prize, which was endowed in 1991 by Clyde and Helen Wu in honor of Eugene Bossart, the Earl V. Moore Professor Emeritus of Chamber Music, who taught at U-M from 1954 to 1984.
Prizes
All winners receive a monetary award, the Bossart Prize, and earn the opportunity to perform their selected work at a future concert of the University Symphony Orchestra, the University Philharmonia Orchestra, the Chamber Choir, or another appropriate ensemble.
Eligibility
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. Undergraduates must have at least junior standing by university and departmental standards.
Acceptable repertoire for this competition consists of a complete concerto or a selection of movements of a concerto, arias, and other short works accompanied by an orchestra or wind ensemble. The entire work must be memorized by the performer for all rounds of the competition.
Schedule
Preliminaries for the 2027 Concerto Competition will take place December 14-17, 2026 in Hill Auditorium. These competitions are managed by each represented department. Below are the times held for each preliminary competition.
- String Department Prelims: Monday, December 14th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Organ Department Prelims: Tuesday, December 15th, 2026 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
- Piano Department Prelims: Tuesday, December 15th, 2026 from 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- WPID Prelims: Wednesday, December 16th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Thursday, December 17th, 2026 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
- Voice & Opera Prelims: Thursday, December 17th, 2026 from 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
If you plan to compete, please hold these time blocks in your calendar until you receive an official time from your faculty facilitator.
Finals for the 2027 Concerto Competition will take place in Hill Auditorium on January 14-15, 2027.
The 2027 Undergraduate Concerto Competition will take place on Thursday, January 14th, 2027 from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Please hold the entire time block, as times will be randomly assigned to the competitors. Dress rehearsals for undergraduate competitors will take place from 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM on Wednesday, January 13th, 2027.
The 2027 Graduate Concerto Competition will take place on Friday, January 15th, 2027 from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Please hold the entire time block, as times will be randomly assigned to the competitors. Dress rehearsals for graduate competitors will take place from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM on Thursday, January 14th, 2027 and 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM on Friday, January 15th, 2027.
Student Applications
The application deadline is Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 11:59 pm.
Past Winners
- Anne-Marie Atanga (BMA ’26, voice)
- Tieran Holmes (BM ’26, flute, music education)
- Cezary Karwowski (DMA ’28, piano; MM ’26, fortepiano)
- Grace Ryan (MM ’26, voice)
- Jinzhao Xu (DMA ’28, piano)
- Ellen Hayashi (BM ’25, violin)
- Lauren Troutman (BM ’26, saxophone, music education)
- Catherine Goode (DMA ’26, voice)
- Cheryl Pandora (MM ’26, piano)
- Karl Rueterbusch (BM ’26, percussion)
- Aleks Shameti (BM ’25, piano)
- Leo Schlaifer (MM ’24, saxophone, chamber music)
- Sarina Zhang (DMA ’25, cello)
- Ben Deighton (BM ’24, cello)
- Nathan Landers (BM ’24, clarinet)
- James Koo (MM ’24, percussion, chamber music)
- Nhi Luong (MM ’21, piano, chamber music; DMA ’26, piano)
2022
- Helen LaGrand (BM ’21, cello)
- Yuki Mori (BM ’22, trombone)
- Brian Kachur (BM ’21, MM ’23, saxophone)
- Aiwen Zhang (SM ’22, saxophone)
- Sua Lee (BM ’22, piano)
- Dana Rath (BM ’22, cello)
- Valentin Kovalev (MM ’22, saxophone)
- Alan Williams (MM ’20, SM ’22, voice)
- Salvador Flores (BM ’21, saxophone; MM ’22, saxophone, improvisation)
- Benjamin Penzner (BM ’21, viola)
- Arianna Dotto (DMA ’21, violin)
- Aleksandra Kasman (DMA ’23, piano)
- Krit Kosoltrakul (BM ’20, piano)
- Ayana Terauchi (BM ’20, flute)
- Xiaoya Liu (MM ’21, piano, chamber music; DMA ’21, piano)
- Meridian Prall (MM ’20, voice)
- Yu Chao Weng (BM ’19, violin)
- Jiyuan Zhang (BM ’18, piano)
- Danielle Gonzalez (MM ’19, percussion, chamber music)
- Christine Harada Li (BM ’12, SM ’17, DMA ’20, violin)
2017
- Stuart Carlson (BM ’19, composition, violin; MM ’21, violin; SM ’22, violin)
- Samuel Kidd (BM ’19, voice)
- Kelly Ann Bixby (BM ’06, DMA ’19, voice)
- Caroline Kim (DMA ’19, cello)
2016
- Aaron Kurz (BM ’17, piano)
- Daniel Fendrick (MM ’19 bassoon; BM ’17, bassoon)
- Tzu-Yin Huang (DMA ’17, piano)
- Kaswanna Kanyinda (MM ’16, voice)
2015
- Hidemi Minagawa (BM ’16, piano)
- Micah Smiley (BM ’15, trombone)
- Ce Sun (MM ’16, piano/chamber music)
- Andreas Oeste (DMA ’19, oboe; MM ’16, oboe/chamber music)
2014
- Daniel Poceta (BM ’15, cello)
- Andrew Wang (BM ’14, piano; BS ’14, computer science)
- Antonina Chekhovskaya (MM ’15, choral conducting; MM ’15, voice; BM ’12, voice)
- Jesse Donner (MM ’13, voice)
2013
- Yihua Cao (BM ’14, piano)
- Nathaniel Pierce (DMA ’19, cello; BM ’13, cello)
- Zachary Stern (MM ’14, saxophone; BM ’11, saxophone)
- Katherine Calcamuggio (DMA ’15, voice)
2012
- Ariel Halt (BM ’12, voice)
- Timothy Krippner (BM ’12, piano)
- Siyuan Li (DMA ’16, piano; MM ’13, piano/chamber music)
- Edward Goodman (DMA ’16, saxophone; MM ’13 saxophone/improvisation)
2011
- Anna Skalova (BM ’11, violin)
- Sean Krissman (BM ’12, clarinet)
- Steven Eddy (SM ’12 voice)
- Katherine Weintraub (MM ’12, saxophone, BM ’10, saxophone)
2010
- Siyi Fang (BM ’11, piano)
- Jonathan Hulting-Cohen (MM ’14 saxophone; BM ’12 saxophone; BA ’12, organizational studies)
- Brian Hsu (DMA ’12, piano)
- Kyle Knapp (DMA voice, attended)
2009
- Uni Choi (BM ’10, piano)
- Elise Shope (BM ’09, flute)
- Paul Dwyer (DMA ’12, cello; MM ’08, cello)
- Vince Yi (DMA ’11, voice)