Competitions

The 2024 Southeast Horn Workshop offers the following competitions:

  1. Composition contest (In advance of the workshop)
  2. Solo competitions – pre-college school student, undergraduate student Filled! or graduate student Filled! levels
  3. Mock auditions Filled! – high horn or low horn
  4. Horn quartet competition Filled!

In addition to workshop registration fees, performance competition fees are $25 for one individual competition. Only one individual performance competition may be entered. There is no fee for the horn quartet competition and no fee to enter the composition competition.

Common rules for performance competitions

  • Competitors must not have performed professionally under full-time contract, or have been previously offered such employment by virtue of winning a full-time professional audition.
  • Competitors may stand or sit to perform. Competitors are not required to perform from memory. However, competitors using music must perform from legal printed copies: no photocopies or scanned copies of music are permitted.
  • The judges reserve the right not to choose a winner, should the quality of performances merit. The winners of each competition will be recognized at the final concert on Sunday, February 25.
  • The first rounds are closed to the public, but subsequent rounds may be open for public viewing.

Composition Contest

The 2024 Southeast Horn Workshop announces a composition contest for horn ensemble music. Winner(s) will receive a performance of their work at the workshop!

Type of work: An original composition of less than 6 minutes for 4–8 (French) horn parts.

Entry Requirements

  • Pieces must be original compositions (no arrangements or transcriptions).
  • Instrumentation is limited to 4–8 (French) horns.
  • Length must be less than 6 minutes.
  • Only one work per composer may be submitted.
  • The piece must not already be published—self-published works will be considered.
  • The piece must not have received any previous awards.
  • Difficulty Level: The composition should be playable by both collegiate and avocational horn ensembles. Works in this division should have musical content that would have the integrity to honor the professional hornists—yet within the pitch and technical range of students and avocational players.

Entries Must Include

  • Full score and parts (PDF) – All materials must be anonymous.
  • MP3 recording (Digital realization is okay).
  • Brief description/program note of the work.
  • Separate composer biography & headshot.

Entries will be judged anonymously by an external panel of celebrated composers.

To guarantee anonymity during judging, the composer’s name and contact information should only appear on the biography.

Entries are due by January 3, 2024.

Submit all materials by email to sehw2024+comp@gmail.com.

Submit Now

Pre-College Solo Competition

Eligibility

Students entering this competition must be currently enrolled in middle or high school (grades 6–12) or in a home-schooling program, and younger than 19 years old on February 25, 2024.

Prizes

1st Prize
$10,000 merit scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy*
2nd Prize
$7,500 merit scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy*

Rules

  • Students must perform from legally acquired music.
  • There is no requirement for an accompanist for the high school solo competition.
  • Parents or guardians may sit in the room during their student’s performance, but may not stay for the performances of other students.
  • The general public will not be invited to observe this competition.
  • Choose one work from the following list.

Repertoire

  • W. A. Mozart, Horn Concerto No. 1 (K. 412), No. 2 (K. 417), No. 3 (K. 447), or No. 4 (K. 495). Mvt. 1.
  • Franz Strauss, Nocturno.
  • Richard Strauss, Concerto No. 1. Mvt. 1.

*Scholarship prize details:

  • Students currently in grades 8-11 (including home-schooled students) are eligible to win this award. Students outside this age range may still win the competition, but are not eligible to receive the scholarship award. This merit scholarship offer is valid only for enrollment in Fall 2024 at Interlochen Arts Academy and is non-transferable and non-deferrable.
  • Winners will still need to complete an application to be accepted into the Academy. Should the horn studio be full at the time of acceptance, qualified students will be placed on a wait-list.
  • Upon completion of the Academy application, students will be considered for financial aid in addition to their merit scholarship. Any financial aid award is in addition to the merit scholarship amount, and is based on parental income and financial need.
  • This prize is a minimum award. Based on audition videos, exceptional applicants may be offered additional scholarship. However, merit scholarships are not “stackable.” For example, if you have already applied for Fall 2024 and received a merit scholarship, the higher of the two scholarships is the final merit scholarship offer.
  • Please contact Dr. Lauren Hunt with any questions.

Undergraduate Solo Competition

Eligibility

This competition has reached capacity.

Students entering this competition must be enrolled at a college or university, and must not currently hold a teaching position at a college or university.

Rules

  • The preliminary round will be performed unaccompanied.
  • For the final round, piano accompaniment is required. Finalists will be accompanied by a staff pianist, but competitors may bring their own accompanist if desired.
  • Students must perform from legally acquired music.
  • Choose one work for each round from the following lists.

Repertoire

Preliminary round

  • Vitaly Buyanovsky, “España” from Traveling Impressions.
  • Gina Gillie, “Ditty for Jonathan” from Three Unaccompanied Pieces for Horn.
  • Otto Ketting, Intrada.
  • Bernhard Krol, Laudatio.
  • Olivier Messiaen, “Appel interstellaire” from Des Canyons aux étoiles….
  • Zsolt Nagy, Happy Blues.
  • James Naigus & Drew Phillips, Soar and Groove.
  • Michelle Stebleton, Of Hildegard.

Final round

  • W. A. Mozart, Horn Concerto No. 2 (K. 417), or No. 4 (K. 495). Mvt. 1.

Graduate Solo Competition

Eligibility

This competition has reached capacity.

Students entering this competition must be enrolled at a college or university as graduate students, and must not currently hold a teaching position at a college or university (graduate assistantships excepted).

Rules

  • The preliminary round will be performed unaccompanied.
  • For the final round, piano accompaniment is required. Finalists will be accompanied by a staff pianist, but competitors may bring their own accompanist if desired.
  • Students must perform from legally acquired music.
  • Choose one work for each round from the following lists.

Repertoire

Preliminary round

  • Paul Basler, Triathlon.
  • Vitaly Buyanovsky, “España” from Traveling Impressions.
  • Gina Gillie, “Ditty for Jonathan” from Three Unaccompanied Pieces for Horn.
  • Olivier Messiaen, “Appel interstellaire” from Des Canyons aux étoiles….
  • Zsolt Nagy, Happy Blues.
  • Esa-Pekka Salonen, Concert étude.

Final round

  • W. A. Mozart, Horn Concerto No. 2 (K. 417), or No. 4 (K. 495). Mvt. 1.

Mock Auditions

Eligibility

These competitions have reached capacity.

Students entering this competition must satisfy the requirements for one of the high school, undergraduate, or graduate solo competitions.

Rules

  • Auditions will take place the evening of Friday, February 23.
  • During the audition, students will conform to the excerpted parts available on the stand, which will be taken directly from the parts for the indicated works. For study, excerpts can be found at Horn Excerpts and HornRep.
  • Performers will be separated from the judges by a screen.
  • Each entrant should prepare all of the excerpts from either the high horn or low horn audition list.

High Horn Repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Op. 92.
Mvt. 1, Vivace, mm. 84–101 (25 before [C]–[C]), Horn 1.
Leonard Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
Mm. 286–293, Horn 1.
Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 1, Op. 68.
Mvt. 2, Andante sostenuto, mm. 91–105, Horn 1.
Percy Grainger, Children’s March, “Over the Hills and Far Away.”
Mm. 213–236, Horn 1.
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5.
Mvt. 3, mm. 559–628, Obbligato horn.
Maurice Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte.
Mm. 1–11, Horn 1.
Richard Strauss, Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op. 28.
Beginning–[1], Horn 1.

Low Horn Repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, Op. 55.
Mvt. 3 Trio, mm.169–202, Horn 2.
Johannes Brahms, Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn.
Var. 6 (no repeats), Horn 2.
Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 31.
Mvt. 2, mm. 36–41, Horn 2.
Camille Saint-Saëns, Symphony No. 3, Op. 78.
Mvt. 1, 4 before [N] – 16 after [N], Horn 4.
Arnold Schoenberg, Theme and Variations, Op. 43.
Var. 6, mm. 169–189, Horn 1.
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, Op. 47.
Mvt. 1, [17]–[21], Horn 2.
Carl Maria von Weber, Der Freischutz Overture.
Mm. 9–25, Horn 4.

Quartet Competition

Eligibility

This competition has reached capacity.

Full-time students not currently hold a teaching position at a college or university (graduate assistantships excepted) and avocational players may compete in the quartet competition.

Rules

  • Each quartet must supply the judges with two photocopied scores of each piece performed.

Repertoire

Each quartet may prepare no more than 15 minutes of music, including changing time between movements and pieces. Any repertoire can be played and contrasting styles are encouraged.