Competitions

The 2026 Southeast Horn Workshop will offer the following competitions:

  1. Solo competitions – pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate divisions
  2. Orchestral mock auditions – high horn or low horn
  3. Military band mock auditions
  4. Horn quartet competition

In addition to workshop registration fees, competition fees are $15 per individual competition and $40 per quartet applies. Registrants will receive detailed digital notes from expert adjudicators alongside a high-definition audio/video recording of their performance to support ongoing pedagogical development.

Please note: competition registration will end on March 1, 2026.

Common rules for 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 must perform from legally acquired music.
  • 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, March 8.
  • Competitions will be open for registration until they fill.

Solo Competition: Pre-College Division

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 March 6, 2026.

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

  • The Pre-College division will only have one round. If applicable to the repertoire, piano accompaniment is required; a University of Tennessee staff accompanist will be provided.
  • 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

  • Aliyah Danielle, Poem from Expansions, Vol. 1. (This publication can be purchased at aliyahdanielle.com)
  • Franz Strauss, Nocturno
  • Gilbert Vinter, Hunter’s Moon

*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 2026 at Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA) and is non-transferable and non-deferrable.
  • Students currently enrolled at IAA are eligible to participate in and win the competition, but doing so will not affect their scholarship/financial-aid package.
  • Winners will still need to complete an application to be accepted into IAA. Should the horn studio be full at the time of acceptance, qualified students will be placed on a wait-list.
  • Upon completion of the IAA 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 2026 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.

Solo Competition: Undergraduate Division

Eligibility

Students entering this competition must be enrolled at a college or university at the undergraduate level.

Rules

  • Piano accompaniment is required, if applicable to the repertoire; a University of Tennessee staff accompanist will be provided.
  • Choose one work for each round from the following lists.

Repertoire

Preliminary round

  • Malcolm Arnold, Fantasy for Solo Horn.
  • Douglas Hill, Elegy for Horn Alone.
  • Wolfgang Plagge, Monoceros, Op. 51.

Final round

  • Eugene Bozza, En Forêt
  • Aliyah Danielle, Contemplation for horn and piano. (This publication can be purchased at aliyahdanielle.com)
  • Margaret Brower, Sonata for horn and piano.

Solo Competition: Graduate Division

Eligibility

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

  • Piano accompaniment is required, if applicable to the repertoire; a University of Tennessee staff accompanist will be provided.
  • Choose one work for each round from the following lists.

Repertoire

Preliminary round

  • Vitaly Bujanovsky, España from Four Improvisations.
  • Catherine Likhuta, I Threw a Shoe at a Cat.
  • Jeff Scott, Ondas for solo horn. (This publication can be purchased at musicbyjeffreyscott.com)

Final round

  • Andrea Clearfield, Rise. (This publication can be purchased at andreaclearfield.com/)
  • Kevin Day, Windborne Concerto for horn and wind ensemble (piano reduction available at murphymusicpress.com)
  • Reinhold Glière, Horn Concerto, Op. 91 (first movement only).

Mock Orchestral Auditions

Eligibility

Students entering this competition must satisfy the requirements for the solo competition at either the pre-college, undergraduate, or graduate division.

Rules

  • 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, HornRep, or OrchestraExcerpts.
  • 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.
  • The winners of this competition will be invited to play in a master class.

High Horn Repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Op. 92.
Mvt. 1, Vivace, mm. 84–101 (25 before [C]–[C]), Horn 1.
Hector Berlioz, Romeo & Juliet, Op. 17.
Mvt. 3 (Queen Mab), Prestissimo (3 after [58]–4 after [62]), Horn 3.
Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 1, Op. 68.
Mvt. 2, Andante sostenuto, mm. 91–105 ([E]–[F]), Horn 1.
Maurice Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte.
Opening solo, mm. 1–11, Horn 1.
Richard Strauss, Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op. 28.
Mm. 6–20, Horn 1.
Richard Wagner, Götterdämmerung .
Act 1, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey (short call), Vivace, Horn 1.

Low Horn Repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, Op. 55.
Mvt. 3 Trio, mm. 171–202, Horn 2.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, Op. 125.
Mvt. 3, Adagio molto e cantabile, mm. 83–121, Horn 4.
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1.
Mvt. 3, mm. 113–132 (4 after [13]–[15]), Horn 2.
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, Op. 47.
Mvt. 1, [17]–[21], Horn 4.
Richard Strauss, Don Quixote.
Variation 8, 6 mm. before [59]–8 mm. after [62], Horn  4.
Carl Maria von Weber, Der Freischutz Overture.
Mm. 9–25, Horn 4.

Mock Military Band Auditions

It is our hope to have this mock audition adjudicated by a Joint Services panel, which could not be arranged while the federal government was shut down. You may register for this mock audition now and we will update this webpage and email information regarding excerpts soon.

Eligibility

Students entering this competition must satisfy the requirements for the solo competition at either the pre-college, undergraduate, or graduate division.

Quartet Competition

Eligibility

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 highly encouraged.