Competitions

Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be currently enrolled in high school (Grades 9-12) or in a home-schooling program. 

Rules:

• Choose one work from the list below.

• Parents or Guardians may sit in the room for their student's performance but may not stay for other performances. 

• This competition will not be open to the public. 

• Solo works must be performed from legally acquired music. Please bring originals with you. 

• While performing, competitors may sit or stand and are not required to play from memory. 

Prize:

1st prize - $10,000 merit scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy

2nd prize - $7,500 merit scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy

(See specific criteria below from Interlochen)

Repertoire:

(choose one)

Laudatio Bernhard Krol

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Sailor Birds for Horn Greg Bartholomew

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Final Round

A class 1 solo on the Texas PML that is similar in difficulty level to: 

• Any of the Mozart Horn Concerti, movement 1

• R. Strauss Horn Concerti (movement 1 or 3)

• Morceau de Concert, mvt 1/2 by Saint Saens

--When you register to compete, please list the final round solo so we can prepare the piano parts in advance. Dr. Denis may also contact you if the piece does not meet the difficulty level.

Award Specification:

• Students currently in grades 8-11, including home-schooled students, are eligible to win this award. Students outside this age range may still win the competition, but are not eligible to receive the scholarship award. This merit scholarship offer is valid only for enrollment in Fall 2026 at the Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA) and is non-transferable and non-deferrable.

• Students currently enrolled at IAA are eligible to participate in and win the competition, but doing so will not affect their scholarship/financial-aid package.

• Winners will still need to complete an application to be accepted into IAA; more information can be found here: https://www.interlochen.org/academy-boarding-school/admission/how-to-apply. Should the horn studio be full at the time of acceptance, qualified students will be placed on a wait-list.

• Upon completion of the IAA application, students will be considered for financial aid in addition to their merit scholarship. Any financial aid award is in addition to the merit scholarship amount, and is based on parental income and financial need.

• This prize is a minimum award. Based on audition videos, exceptional applicants may be offered additional scholarship funding. However, merit scholarships are not "stackable." For example, if you have already applied for Fall 2026 and received a merit scholarship, the higher of the two scholarships is the final merit scholarship offer.

• Please contact Dr. Lauren Hunt at lauren.hunt@interlochen.org with any questions.

Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be enrolled full-time at a college or university as an undergraduate student. 

Rules:

• Choose one work from the preliminary round choices. 

• Solo works must be performed from legally acquired music. Please bring originals with you. 

• The preliminary rounds of the solo competitions will be performed unaccompanied and will be closed to the public.  

• An accompanist will be provided for the second round and it may be open to the public. 

• While performing, competitors may sit or stand and are not required to play from memory.

Repertoire:

Preliminary Round (choose one)

“Ditty for Jonathan” in Three Unaccompanied Pieces for Horn Gina Gillie

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Intrada Otto Ketting

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Final Round

Villanelle Paul Dukas

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Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be enrolled full-time at a college or university as a graduate student. 

Rules:

• Choose one work from the preliminary and secondary round choices. 

• Solo works must be performed from legally acquired music. Please bring originals with you. 

• The preliminary rounds of the solo competitions will be performed unaccompanied and will be closed to the public.  

• An accompanist will be provided for the second round and it may be open to the public. 

• While performing, competitors may sit or stand and are not required to play from memory.

Repertoire:

Preliminary Round (choose one)

Confessions of St. Augustine, mvt 1     Erika Raum

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Lone Call and Charge    Richard Bissill

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Final Round 

Adagio and Allegro R. Schumann

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Eligibility: Competitors entering the mock auditions must meet the eligibility criteria for any one of the solo competitions.

Rules:

• Music can be found here.

• Each competitor should prepare all of the orchestral excerpts.

• Competitors should provide their own music.

Repertoire for High Horn:

• Ravel Piano Concerto in G: mvt 1, 24-26, horn 1

• Beethoven No. 7: mvt 1, mm. 84-110, horn 1 (Excerpt 1 on hornsociety)

• Beethoven No. 6: mvt III, mm 132-161, horn 1 (Excerpt 1 on hornsociety)

• Brahms Symphony No. 3: Mvt. 3, mm 98-110, Hn. 1 Solo (Excerpt 2 on hornsociety)

• Strauss Till Eulenspiegl, beginning-1, horn 1 opening solo (Excerpt 1 on hornsociety)

Repertoire for Low Horn:

• Mahler Symphony No. 1, Mvt. III, mm 113-132, horn 2 (Excerpt 5 on hornsociety)

• Beethoven Symphony No. 3, Mvt. III, Trio - mm. 169-202, horn 2 (Excerpt 3 on hornsociety)

• Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Mvt III, mm. 83-121, horn 4 (excerpt 3 on hornsociety) 

• Shostakovich No. 5, Mvt I, 17-21, horn 1 (Excerpt 1 on hornsociety)

• Don Quixote variation 7, 57-5 after 58, horn 2 (Excerpt 2 on hornsociety)

Eligibility: Competitors entering the mock auditions must meet the eligibility criteria for any one of the solo competitions.

Rules:

• Music can be found here.

• Each competitor should prepare all of the band excerpts.

• Competitors should provide their own music.

Repertoire:

Joseph Wilcox Jenkins American Overture, Op. 13 (m. 1-23)

Claude T. Smith Festival Variations (m. 226-247 )

Leonard Bernstein Overture to Candide (m. 120-202)

John Williams Hymn to the Fallen (pickup to 28-m. 42)

Nicholas Maw American Games (pickup to six before 3 through two after 4)

Eligibility: Ensembles, regardless of size, must be made up of students enrolled in high school, college, or university to enter the ensemble competitions. 

Rules:

• Ensembles must comprise only one player per part, regardless of Quartet or Large (5+ players).

• Quartet ensembles may not perform with a conductor. 

• The personnel of the ensemble may not change during the performance. All performers must play on every piece. 

• While performing, competitors may sit or stand and are not required to play from memory.

• One work must be originally written and published for the instrumentation of the ensemble.

• Competitors should provide their own music as well as two copies to provide to the judges.

Repertoire:

• Ensembles should choose 10 minutes of music to perform for the judges. Performance times will be 15 minutes total. Competitors are encouraged to consider diversity in repertoire, such as contrasting styles of pieces or works by composers (or arrangers) of underrepresented groups. 

• Quartets are required to play as one of their pieces: 

Bach- Fugue in C minor (Shaw)

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