Graduate Solo Competition
Rules and Guidelines
The Graduate Solo Competition is held during the fall semester, and all dates and deadlines for the competition will be announced early in the fall semester. Winners are scheduled to perform with the University Symphony Orchestra or University Wind Ensemble, as the repertoire dictates, during the same academic year. The first round of competition, held in the fall semester before Fall Break, will be area-based (the six areas for this competition are brass/percussion; organ; piano; string; voice; and woodwinds), and the first round will be organized, coordinated and monitored by the faculty member who is head of the area. No more than three finalists from each area may be put through to the final round of competition. This final round of competition, open to observers, will be organized, coordinated and monitored by a designated School of Music faculty coordinator.
The Graduate Solo Competition is held in conjunction with an Undergraduate Solo Competition that is run at the same time of the fall semester. No more than two graduate students and two undergraduate students will be named winners each year. Assuming that all required rules and guidelines have been satisfied, the sole criteria for selection of the winner(s) is the quality of the performance. In the case of multiple movements, or arias for example, judges may specify those that qualify for the concert. The judges may select four, three, two, one, or no winner depending on the quality of the performances heard during the Graduate and Undergraduate competitions.
Students entering the competition must be currently pursuing a graduate music degree and registered at the 800 or 900 applied level in the performance area in which they are competing. Winners are ineligible as candidates in future Graduate Solo Competitions if pursuing the same degree.
The online application form for the competition can be found on the Glenn Korff School of Music website under Current Students under Forms at https://arts.unl.edu/music/solo-concerto-competition-application and this site will begin accepting submissions in August. Upon submission your application will automatically be sent to your applied teacher, ensemble director, and the competition coordinator. The coordinator will provide all application information to the area heads, who will then coordinate the preliminary competition rounds.
In addition to standard information including student name, performance area, year in school, and current contact information, the application requires:
1. The title, movement(s), composer (and arranger if applicable) of the music, with biographical dates and any other appropriate information, printed exactly as it should appear in a concert program.
2. The length of the composition in minutes and seconds.
The length of each audition shall not exceed 15 minutes. Actual concert performance time of the music may vary, but the length of the works presented may not allow for all winners to be scheduled on the concert performance with the ensemble. Memorization is required in performance areas for which it is traditional. Multiple movements are permitted in the case of shorter works, and more than one vocal work may be presented, such as shorter arias. All vocal works must be in the original key. Rehearsal time in the audition venue cannot be provided.
Music performed in the competition must be the same as that for the concert. At each round of the competition it is expected that candidates will supply one copy of the music for the judges. Photocopies are not permitted.
The composition chosen by the student must be performable by resources available at UNL. Further the complete score and parts for the accompanying ensemble must be available for purchase or rental. If in doubt, the student and the student's applied studio instructor should consult with the appropriate music director of the accompanying ensemble in advance of the first round of competition to ensure availability of music, accompaniment capability, and appropriate instrumentation/ensemble size requirements.
Three professional musicians from outside the Glenn Korff School of Music are brought in to adjudicate the final round of the competition. UNL Symphony Orchestra and University Wind Ensemble directors may serve in an ex-officio capacity. Applied faculty with students in the competition are ineligible to adjudicate. Also, teachers cannot serve as accompanists for their own students.