Western Illinois University
Symphony Orchestra
2024-2025 Concerto/Aria/Composition Competition
Preliminary Round Due Date - November 8, 2024
Live Final Round - December 1, 2024

Eligibility

1. Competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate full-time students.
2. Instrumentalists and vocalists who wish to participate in the concerto/aria competition must be enrolled in private lessons AND ensemble(s) with the exception of pianists.
3. Instrumentalists and vocalists must be in good standing with their participation in ensemble(s).
4. Competition winners from the previous year (2023-2024) are ineligible for a period of one year.
5. Winners must be available to perform in the Concerto/Aria concert on February 27, 2025.

Jury

• The concerto/aria preliminary round will be arranged and judged by the WIU applied faculty areas and will be completed by November 8.
• Following the preliminary round, the faculty will advance up to three performers from each area.
• The final round of the concerto/aria competition will be judged by the Orchestra Director and judge(s) that are agreed upon by the applied area heads.
• The composition competition will be judged by the WIU composition faculty and the Orchestra Director.

Repertoire

1. All concerto/aria competition repertoire must be approved by the Orchestra Director prior to entry. Please submit a pdf score to Dr. Cangro (RM-Cangro@wiu.edu) by October 7.
2. Orchestra parts must be available to use. Rental scores and parts will need to be approved by the orchestra director pending availability and cost.
3. Composition entries must be submitted as a PDF and must be notated clearly using software (Sibelius, Finale, etc.).
4. The maximum time limit for any piece is 20 minutes.

Collaborative Pianist Policy

• In the preliminary round, the SOM will allocate a total of 2 hours for each competitor to have rehearsals/lessons with a staff pianist, along with an additional 1-hour rehearsal/lesson before the final round.
• Additional rehearsals, with pianist consent, will incur a fixed rate of $40/hour ($20/half hour).
• Please contact Dr. Po ((P-Chiang@wiu.edu)) directly for any questions regarding pianists.

Competition Forms

1. There is no preliminary round for composers. Composition finalist entries are due on December 1 and can be submitted to Dr. Cangro (RM-Cangro@wiu.edu).
2. Preliminary round results will be announced by November 11 .
3. Finalists must submit a Finalist Form (link to be sent to finalists) by November 22 and will need to upload their scores for the judges. Piano reductions are acceptable.
4. Finalists will perform their repertoire in its entirety on December 1 in COFAC Recital Hall. Specific times for the competition will be announced later.
5. Instrumentalists and vocalists are required to perform all rounds with a collaborative pianist.
6. Memorization is highly encouraged.