Virtuosi Concerto Competition
Details will be forthcoming for the 2026-2027 Competition and we will update this page as information becomes available. Contact us if you have questions.
Competition Rules & Eligibility
- The Concerto Competition will take place in 2027 at the Virtuosi of Houston Studio in the Memorial City Mall.
- The Concerto Competition is open to all fully enrolled instrumentalists of Virtuosi of Houston who have no more than two excused absences in the season’s first rehearsal cycle, have no unexcused absences, and owe no tuition or other debt to Virtuosi of Houston.
- All contestants shall be assigned to compete in one of two categories:
- Strings/Harp
- Winds/Percussion/Keyboard
- The order of competing contestants shall be determined by a drawing, and all contestants will be notified one week before the Competition.
- Previous Concerto Competition First Prize winners are not eligible to compete for one full year after.
- The music selection for the concerto competition must be able to be performed by the current Virtuosi of Houston chamber orchestra, and approved by the Maestros.
Application Fee & Submission
Application forms require an application fee (TBD)
Mail forms and fee to:
Virtuosi of Houston
303 Memorial City, Suite #235
Houston, TX 77024
Repertoire
- Each contestant shall present a movement of a concerto or a concert piece of contestant’s choice.
- The chosen composition shall be for a solo instrument and orchestra, or multiple instruments and
- All contestants shall perform their selections from memory.
- All contestants shall provide their own accompanists. Teachers/instructors may not accompany their own students.
- All contestants shall supply 5 copies of the scores for the judges.
- All compositions shall be chosen from repertoire where the instrumentation of the orchestra accompaniment reflects the instrumentation of Virtuosi of Houston:
- 2 flutes (interchangeable with piccolo)
- 2 oboes (interchangeable with English horns)
- 2 clarinets
- 2 bassoons
- 2 French horns
- 2 trumpets
- 2 percussion instruments
- harp
- keyboard instrument (harpsichord, piano, and organ)
- strings
- Orchestra parts should be readily available through regular commercial channels, or otherwise provided by the contestant.
- Selections cannot be winning selections from the prior two years and are subject to the approval of the Virtuosi of Houston maestros, and their decision is final. For the 2027 competition, the following pieces are excluded:
- Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64: I. Allegro by Felix Mendelssohn
- Concerto for Double Bass, Op. 3: I. Allegro by Serge Koussevitzky
- Gotan Concerto for Vibraphone & Marimba, Duo Version by Emmanuel Séjourné
- Violin Concerto, Op. 14: I. Allegro by Samuel Barber
- Proper attire is required.
Judges
- The judges shall be selected from among prominent instrumentalists, conductors, and educators; representing string, woodwind, brass and percussion areas.
- The judges shall not be affiliated with Virtuosi of Houston.
- The judges reserve the right not to award any single prize, or any prizes at all.
- The decision of the judges is final.
Prizes
- To be determined
2026 Concerto Competition Winners
Arjun Chandupatla (3rd), Oliver Tran (2nd), McKenna Peterson (1st Tied), Noah Baskin & Taison Clark (1st Tied)
Get in Touch
As more information becomes available, we will reach out and contact you for details regarding the competition. Send us a general inquiry and we will let you know.