2016 Collin County Young Artist Competition

A wonderful opportunity for serious young artists to compete is coming soon, and will be a great event for all to attend!

Every year, Collin County students compete to perform a spring concerto with the Plano Symphony Orchestra (PSO). This year the 2016 Collin County Young Artist Competition will be held on Saturday, January 9.

Eligibility requirements are that the participant meet at least one of the following requirements:

Live in Plano or Collin County
Attend a Collin County, Plano ISD or Frisco ISD school
Study on the audition instrument – in Collin County or with a primary private lesson teacher who resides in Plano or Collin County or is a PSO core musician
Be a family member of a PSO core musician

Winners are named in the Junior Division (grades 1–8) and the Senior Division (grades 9–12) in three categories: strings, winds & percussion and piano. Two rounds make up this competition: Preliminary Round and Final Round. In the Preliminary Round, each student will perform their concerto movement in a closed audition before two expert judges and a max audition time of 10 minutes. Each category will have two judges who will rank students during the Preliminary Round, and within each Division up to two Finalists may be chosen to compete for the Grand Prize. Also, there is a possibility they designate 3rd Place and Honorable Mention winners. A total of up to 12 Finalists may be chosen overall. Finally, the Finalists will perform a five-minute sample of their concerto movement in the Final Round to compete for one of three Grand Prize Winner positions. Anyone can watch the Finals performance, which is before a panel of six judges.

A grand prize winner for each category will be announced at the end of the competition. The chosen winners will then perform with PSO for the March concert. Place winners could potentially be invited to perform at other local events.

Sponsored by TAFF, TOPAZ Labs and the Plano Symphony Guild.