The Yale Symphony Orchestra
2025 William Waite Competition
Award:
One winner will be invited to perform the concerto on which they auditioned on a YSO concert next season at a date to be determined by the Music Director.
Eligibility:
The competition is open to all first years, sophomores, or juniors in Yale College with priority given to YSO Members. Applicants must be available to perform with the Yale Symphony Orchestra during the 2025-2026 season, the exact date at the discretion of the Music Director. The winner of the award agrees to commit to rostered membership in the regular season, with exception of non-orchestral instruments (i.e. guitar, piano, voice).
Competition Schedule and Rules:
Preliminary Round
Applicants should prepare ten minutes of music from the concerto on which they are auditioning. Your ten minutes must include selections from each movement.
Applicants should submit a ten minute video via unlisted YouTube link. Accompaniment is not required for the YouTube submission. Please put “William Waite Concerto Competition Application” in the subject line, and provide the following information in the body of your e-mail:
Name
Class Year
Name of the work being performed
You may submit your YouTube audition link to brian.s.robinson@yale.edu by 5:00pm on December 20, 2024.
Applications submitted that lack the above specifications will be disqualified.
Late entries will not be considered.
Final Round
Four finalists will be chosen from the preliminary round and all applicants will be notified by Monday, January 6, 2024.
Finalists will be asked to prepare their entire concerto in the final round. Finalists will each have a half hour to perform, and may be asked for specific passages by the jury.
Please bring two copies of scores for adjudicators to reference.
Accompaniment is required of all finalists. You are responsible for finding your own accompanist if you are selected as a finalist. If you need assistance with compensation for an accompanist, contact Brian Robinson directly at brian.s.robinson@yale.edu
The final round competition will be held in the Blocker Orchestra Room in Hendrie Hall on Saturday, January 18, 2024 between 12pm and 3pm by three judges to be revealed at that time.
Notification
One winner will be selected from the final round. Competition winner will be notified of the judges’ decision after the Final Round is complete. The decision of the judges is final.