On Line Audition Upload Deadline: December 1, 2025
Application Fee: $40 (payable by credit/debit card via PayPal)
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
Awards: Winner receives $300 and the opportunity to perform in concert with the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony at The DeVos Center for Arts & Worship (on the campus of GR Christian HS) on February 25, 2024.
Alternate receives $50 and the opportunity to perform if the winner is unavailable.
❖ ELIGIBILITY
Student pianists ages 15 to 21 are invited to compete.
Specifically, a contestant:
— Must be at least age 15 but not yet age 21 by January 1, 2026.
— Must be between a high school sophomore and a college sophomore, inclusively, in the current school year.
— Must have a residence in one of the following Michigan counties: Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren.
> May be attending college or university outside of these counties if the primary residence is in one of these counties.
OR
> May be attending college at any public or private college or university based in one of these counties (even if the primary residence is elsewhere).
— May win this competition only once.
— Must submit $40 application fee.
— Note: There is no requirement for music club affiliation.
❖ REPERTOIRE
— The choice of piece is up to the contestant, but it must be a work, or a movement of a work, for piano and orchestra.
—The piece must be pre-approved by the Music Director prior to submitting an application. The applying student must email jschut@grsymphony.org and open copy their applied teacher for approval. This ensures the work is of manageable orchestral difficulty and orchestral parts are available.
— The audition piece will be the piece performed if the contestant wins.
— The piece’s total playing time must be at least 8 minutes and not more than 16 minutes long.
— The work must be performed from memory at the audition.
❖ ACCOMPANIMENT
— Contestants do not need to be accompanied at the audition for the video upload.
❖ AUDITION PROCESS
— Submit this application form by December 1, 2025
— You should receive an email with your username and password for the audition upload page
— The audition upload page will contain instructions for how to create your audition video and allow you to upload the video.
— Upload audition video by December 1. 2025
For more information, please contact the GRYS Piano Concerto Competition coordinator at competitions@grys.org or manager@grys.org
or call the General Manager at 616-842-6566.