Full tuition scholarship
The Grand Prize Winner will attend the Philadelphia International Music Festival on a full tuition scholarship.
PIMF is held annually in historic Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Grand Prize Winner will be awarded a full-scholarship to the Philadelphia International Music Festival and three virtual or in-person lessons with a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
No travel, no live round, and nothing to prepare beyond the music you’re already perfecting.
Open worldwide to all instruments (including piano): Junior, ages 6 to 11 · Young Artists, ages 12 to 15 · Senior, ages 16 to 19.
One movement of any concerto, accompanied or unaccompanied. A single unedited take, filmed on any camera.
Upload the video to YouTube, set it to public, and send the link with the entry form. Video is required, audio alone is not accepted.
The PIMF Adjudication Panel reviews the entries. Results are posted on January 20, 2027, and winners are contacted directly.
Every winner leaves with a scholarship and private instruction from a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
The Grand Prize Winner will attend the Philadelphia International Music Festival on a full tuition scholarship.
PIMF is held annually in historic Wayne, Pennsylvania.
First-place winners in each of the three divisions receive a partial scholarship to the festival.
Division winners each receive a $1,000 scholarship to PIMF.
The Grand Prize Winner is awarded three private lessons with a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Each division winner is awarded one.
Scheduled in-person or virtually, anywhere in the world.
All division winners are invited to perform in the annual Winners Circle Performance, which regularly includes performances by principal players from The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Winners may also be selected for performance prizes and orchestral solo opportunities beyond the festival itself. See Bensen Kwan below
Haydn, Keyboard Concerto in D Major, Hob.XVIII/11, Movement I, Vivace
Mozart, Oboe Concerto in C Major, K.314, Movement I, Allegro aperto
Saint-Saëns, Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61, Movement I, Allegro non troppo
Crusell, Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 5
Recording one movement is the whole entry.
Enter the CompetitionBensen Kwan recorded Keiko Abe’s Prism Rhapsody on marimba with piano accompaniment and won the Grand Prize in the PIMF Virtual Concerto Competition.
PIMF later selected him to perform the same piece as marimba soloist with The United States Army Field Band in Newport News, Virginia.
The same music, a much larger stage.
Six rules, and the third is the one entries are most often disqualified for.
Requirements met? The entry form takes a few minutes.
Submit Your EntryHundreds of musicians from across the United States and around the world have competed since 2020.
No. The competition is open to any young musician worldwide, whether or not they have any connection to PIMF. Winning is one of the ways students come to the festival, not a requirement for entering.
No. The entire competition is virtual. You record one movement at home, at school, or wherever your young musician normally performs, and submit a link.
One continuous recording of the movement, start to finish, with no cuts. You may record as many attempts as you like and submit the best one, but the submitted video itself cannot be assembled from more than one take.
No. Performances may be accompanied or unaccompanied, and that choice is not itself judged.
Any concerto, and any one of its movements. Entries have ranged from Vivaldi and Haydn to Prokofiev, Korngold and Keiko Abe, so the repertoire matters far less than how well it is played.
Each entry covers one movement on one instrument. Families with a student who plays more than one instrument should ask before submitting a second entry.
Every entry is adjudicated, and finalists are heard by a PIMF Adjudication Panel, including principal players of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Past panels have included Marc Rovetti, Kimberly Fisher and Hai-Ye Ni of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Boris Allakhverdyan of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and pianist Yu Xi Wang of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Entries close at midnight EST on December 31, 2026, and results are posted on January 20, 2027. Winners are contacted directly.
You have already prepared a concerto movement for a lesson, a recital or an audition. Record it once and send the link. Every entry is adjudicated, and finalists are heard by a PIMF Adjudication Panel, including principal players of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Winners are awarded scholarships to the festival.
Results posted January 20, 2027