Concerto Contest

The Greeley Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce the 42nd annual Walter and Virginia Charles Concerto Contest for high school students in grades 10, 11, or 12 in Boulder, Larimer, Morgan, or Weld counties. The contest is open to young area musicians playing a standard orchestra instrument (wind instruments, strings, or percussion) or piano. This event is made possible by a generous gift from the late Virginia Charles.

First prize is $1,000 and the winner will be the featured soloist in a concert with the Greeley Chamber Orchestra during its 2023-2024 season, on March 8, 2024. A second place prize of $500 will also be awarded (no performance opportunity applies).

The competition will be held Saturday, January 6, 2024, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Greeley. Entrants must provide their own accompanist. Memorization is preferred but not required. Each entrant will be allowed fifteen (15) minutes to perform all or part of a piece that would be suitable for performance with the orchestra (orchestration may involve strings, woodwinds in pairs, horns, trumpets, timpani, and harpsichord). Audition details will be sent to each qualified contestant after the application is returned.

If there are any questions about the appropriateness of a piece or about the competition, please feel free to call Marcia Bohnenblust, 970-396-6542, or Cheryl Primmer, 970-209-8200, coordinators of the Greeley Chamber Orchestra Concerto Contest. Entrants selecting pieces which are not written for chamber orchestra accompaniment will not be accepted for the competition.

Video recordings of the 2021 winners are available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJJRhjwZZUDBd4caWc_v3A/videos.

The 2023 winner's performance is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TwHkxr7SCo