2025-2026 Carleton Concerto/Aria Competition – Music

The Carleton Orchestra hosts the 2025-2026 Concerto/Aria Competition! The Ensemble is inviting student musicians to submit an application to perform with the Carleton Orchestra in the Spring 2026 term. Applications will be reviewed and those who meet the criteria will be scheduled to audition their piece in front of esteemed judges. The winner of the competition will be invited to perform in the Orchestra spring concert.

Applications are due by midnight Friday, November 7, 2025.

Auditions will take place on Saturday, February 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM in Kracum Hall

The winner(s) entrant will perform with the Carleton Orchestra during the 2026 Spring Term Concert: Sunday, May 24, 2026, 3:00 PM

Competition Requirements

The competition is open to seniors who are actively involved in the Music Department and have taken a minimum of three terms of private lessons in their respective instrument or voice type.
Participation and repertoire must be approved by the private teacher.
Demonstrate meaningful experience playing or singing with others under the direction of a Carleton conductor or coach (ie. large ensembles or chamber music).
Students must be enrolled in on campus classes during the Spring 2026 term and be able to commit to attending all requested Orchestra rehearsals during the term.
The selected piece or movement(s) must be a composition for instrument or voice and orchestra or chamber orchestra, not to exceed 15 minutes in length.
The maximum audition time for the competition is 10 minutes. If the selected piece exceeds 10 minutes, entrants shall select excerpts for the audition that best represent both their abilities and significant features of the music.
Students must use a Carleton staff accompanist and are responsible for scheduling rehearsal time with the accompanist.
Entrants shall provide the judges with 2 copies of the reduced score of their selected piece.
The decision of the judges is final.

Other considerations:

Concerti for multiple instruments will be permitted to enter the competition with the approval of the Orchestra Director, James Chang.
The Orchestra Director reserves the right to determine if a submitted piece is acceptable for future performance based on instrumentation, cost, availability, level of difficulty, or other factors related solely to the orchestral accompaniment.

If you meet the requirements and would like to apply to participate in the competition, please fill out the form below by midnight Friday, November 7th. If you have any questions about the competition, please reach out to James Chang (jchang3@carleton.edu).

Carleton Concerto/Aria Competition Entry Form

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

What is your class year?(Required)

Senior

Junior

Sophmore

Freshman

Who is your instructor?(Required)

What is your instructor's email?(Required)

Have you discussed your application and received approval from your instructor?(Required)

Yes

You must have approval from your instructor to apply for this competition.

Name of your accompanist(Required)

Instrument(s)(Required)

Please list all instruments that you will be performing.

Composition Title(Required)

Please include key and catalog numbers as appropriate.

Composer(Required)

List the titles and approximated lengths of each movement you intend to perform(Required)

Title

Approximate length in minutes

Please use the “+” button on the right hand side to add additional rows. (one row per piece/movement)

Please list the terms you have been enrolled in individual lessons at Carleton (ex. Viola lessons, Fall 2024)(Required)

Please list the terms you have been enrolled in an ensemble at Carleton (ex. Orchrestra, Fall 2024)(Required)

Not Eligible

This competition is only open to seniors.