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CONCERTO COMPETITION: Saturday, December 6th, 2025
Winner’s Concert with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra:
Sunday, May 10th, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Benson Great Hall
Bethel University
3900 Bethel Dr
St Paul, MN 55112
The SPPTA Concerto Competition is open to any age student up through high school who would like to perform an accompanied concerto movement, and receive a critique from two judges. From the preliminary round participants, six finalists are selected to perform again in the evening for the Finals Round, where the two daytime judges are joined by a third. Cash prizes are awarded for those musicians placing 3rd, 2nd, and 1st, with the 1st place winner also earning the opportunity to perform their same concerto movement in concert with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra.
Awards:
1st Place - $250 and Concert Soloist
2nd Place - $150
3rd Place - $100
Registrations will be accepted between September 1st and October 15th, 2025. The registration fee is $50 per student for SPPTA Members, $75 per student for non-members, and is waived for MusicLink students when the teacher’s MusicLink ID is noted on the registration form.
Location: Bloomington Schmitt Music Auditorium – 7800 Harmony Dr., Bloomington, MN 55439
Competition Preliminaries: Saturday, December 6, 2025, approximately 10:30am-5:00pm
Competition Finals: Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 6:30pm-8:30pm, with doors opening at 6:15pm. (Start time may be adjusted later during years with higher event participation when the preliminary round extends longer.)
Winner’s Concert with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra
Sunday, May 10, 2026 3:00 PM
Benson Great Hall, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN
Gifts and memorials to financially support this unique student opportunity are tax deductible.
Concerto Competition Rules and Regulations:
1. Registration limits The SPPTA Concerto Competition accommodates up to twenty-four students. Any registrations received beyond this amount will be placed in a lottery to establish alternates in the case of cancellations. Teachers with more than one student in the lottery will have the opportunity to rank them. Registration forms must be postmarked by October 15th to be accepted.
2. Fee. $50 per student for SPPTA members; $75 per student for non-members. Payment must be made by the teacher payable to SPPTA. This fee is waived for MusicLink students when the teacher’s MusicLink ID is noted on the registration form. Refunds are given only if students are unable to participate due to program capacity or event cancellation.
3. Eligibility. This competition is open to any student through grade 12. The teacher must complete and sign the registration form and take care of all the details. If a student has transferred teachers within the last 6 months, please note the previous teacher’s name, so we can honor both teaching contributions. While a student who has won the competition may continue to participate in subsequent years to receive the judges’ critiques, he/she cannot be awarded 1st place again.
4. Repertoire. Teachers may choose any concerto. A full movement must be prepared. Please note that each time a student participates in the competition, a different movement or concerto must be performed. Concerto selections cannot be changed after the registration deadline. A link to some suggested concerto can be found at the bottom of this page.
5. Time Limits. A student’s performance time at the preliminary auditions may not exceed ten (10) minutes and should be one (1) movement, except as noted on the suggested concerto list. Finalists may expand their playing time to no more than twelve (12) minutes. The teacher should make and clearly mark all appropriate cuts in the tutti so the student can play as much of the movement as possible, allowing time for the entire cadenza to be heard. Each student must play the same movement for the final auditions as was played for the preliminaries.
6. Finalists’ Concert. At the judges’ discretion, a maximum of six (6) students will be chosen to play in the final auditions. A winner may or may not be chosen.
7. First-Place Winner. The first-place winner must be available to rehearse and perform with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra. Once a student has won, he/she will not be awarded 1st place again in subsequent years, even if he/she was unable to perform with the orchestra when selected.
8. Accompanist. A student must provide his/her own accompanist.
9. Music for Judge. Each student must provide clean, non-photocopied music for the judge. Printed public domain pieces are acceptable. Make sure pencil marks are erased and measures are neatly numbered. Mark all cuts clearly (sticky notes, paper clips, etc.) to ensure the judges can easily follow the performance.
10. Cadenzas. Cadenzas may be photocopied. Number all measures.
11. Contestant Minimum. In case of low registration numbers, the program may not be offered.
12. Audition Format. All auditions must be done in person, on the date of the competition. No other form of performance submission will be accepted unless the event is forced to be virtual, in which case all auditions will be submitted by YouTube video, four days or more before the competition.
13. Open to the Public. Both preliminary and final auditions are open to the public, and all participants are encouraged to attend the finalists’ evening auditions.
14. Videotaping. From a location that does not impact the judges’ ability to clearly see the stage, a parent may videotape their own child’s performance, but not the performance of any other participant.
15. Communication with the Judges. Aside from a greeting when entering the room, no student, parent, or teacher may communicate with the judges at any time. If you have any questions or concerns about the event, please speak with the concerto competition coordinator. No one is allowed to discuss performance details with the judges, and the decision of the judges is final.
16. Memorization. While memorization is not required to participate in the preliminary round and receive the judges' critiques, only those individuals performing their concerto memorized will be considered as possible finalists.
17. Disqualification. Please review these guidelines well, and discuss them with your students and student families, as infractions of these rules will result in disqualification.
Registrations accepted September 1st – October 15th, 2025.
Register and pay online at:
https://www.cognitoforms.com/SaintPaulPianoTeachers/_2025SPPTAConcertoCompetitionRegistrationForm
or, Register and pay via mail by sending registration forms to::
Beverly Olson,
Attn: Concerto Competition
1017 Glen Paul Court,
Shoreview, MN 55126
Beverly can be reached at Bev@BenchandBow.com and (651) 341-0353 if you have questions.
Checks should be made payable to SPPTA.
Concerto Competition 2024-2025 Winners
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Gifts and memorials to financially support this
unique student opportunity are tax deductible.
