The Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh is pleased to announce

The Young artist concerto competition

2026-27 season

Timeline

April 15, 2026 - Open to applicants
August 1, 2026 - Application deadline
August 8, 2026 - Finalists announced
August 17, 2026 (afternoon) - Final round (live-location TBA)
August 20, 2026 - Junior and Senior winners announced
September 19, 2026 at 7:30pm - The two winners will be featured as soloists with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh

Rules and applications procedures

The competition will feature two divisions:
Junior division - 18 or younger at the time of winner performance (September 19, 2026)
Senior division - 25 or younger and currently enrolled in a college or university music program at the time of winner performance (September 19, 2026)

To enter competition please:

Application form

Pay the entry fee of $25 (you will be redirected after submitting online application)
Note: have your link to uploaded YouTube performance video on hand for application
Video for upload should be of one of the selected concerto movements
Video must include accompanist

The competition will ONLY include the repertoire from the list found here

Finalists will be asked to play on August 17, 2026 the same repertoire that they submitted for the opening round for the judge panel

Finalists are required to provide their own accompanist

Finalists are required to bring three copies of concerto sheet music to final round

If selected, the soloist must have work to be performed memorized for the final round

No audience or recordings allowed in final auditions

Judge panel

Rodrigo Ojeda, Pianist- Pittsburgh Symphony and Associate Teaching Professor of Collaborative Piano - Carnegie Mellon University
Anne Moskal- Concertmaster, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh; Associate Concertmaster, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra
Edward Leonard- Artistic Director and Conductor, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh