2023 Annual Competition
Entry Info

Welcome to the Pacific Musical Society & Foundation's 2023 Annual Competition!

In 2023, the Pacific Musical competition will continue with the virtual format used successfully last year. A significant benefit of this format is that it enables our panel of prominent judges to provide personalized feedback to each contestant, aligned with our mission of providing developmental support to young classical musicians.

We are also making major changes this year to expand and update the competition format. This year:

• The competition is open to entrants from all counties in the State of California, not just the Bay Area.

• The Composition category has been significantly expanded, recognizing the role of composition in the development of modern musicianship. It is now open to ages 8–25, and encourages submissions in 3 subcategories: Original Composition, Composer/Performer, and Arranger/Performer. See details in the category requirements section.

• The Vocal category has been changed to a single category for applicants of any gender, rather than separate categories for male and female as in the past.

• First Place prizes have been raised to $1200.

• We have kicked off a capital campaign to help sustain the Pacific Musical competition for the next century. Competition categories and divisions are available for sponsorship, with naming rights available for significant donation; e.g., the Piano-2 division is now the “Shirley M. Beckett Piano Division”. Learn more about the named divisions here and reach out to us at info@pacificmusical.com if you’re interested in learning more about or contributing to the campaign.

Otherwise, the competition format follows last year’s, with a single round of judging based on electronic submissions (video submissions for the performance categories), contestants receiving individualized feedback from the judging panel, and winning submissions featured in an online showcase. Winners will be announced on or around March 6, 2023.

The application and video submission deadline for the 2023 Competition is January 22, 2023.

Download the 2023 Competition Information Pack
Enter before January 22, 2023

Instructions to Applicants:
Please read these instructions in their entirety.

You must complete all the steps below and submit your application fee by 11:59pm PT on January 22, 2023.

Step 1:
Participation in the competition requires an application fee of $100.00. Submit your non-refundable fee of $100.00 via PayPal in advance of the January 22, 2023 final application deadline.

Step 2:
Upload your video submissions to YouTube. All your videos must be uploaded to YouTube before they can be entered in the competition. Each piece you're submitting must be uploaded separately (for example, if you are applying for a piano competition, you will upload four separate videos). Log into your YouTube account, and upload your video submissions to your account. You must mark your videos as Public or Unlisted on YouTube for them to be available to enter in the competition. Children may have their videos submitted through a parent's account. Note that all videos must be recorded on or after July 16, 2021 (within the last 6 months of the application deadline)

Step 3:
Complete and submit the online application form by 11:59pm on January 22, 2023. The form will ask you to supply links to the YouTube videos you uploaded in Step 2, so please have those handy.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Can a selection be an excerpt or partial work?

  A: Each selection must be a complete movement or complete work in itself.

• Q: What composers are considered Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century?

  A: Lists of Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century composers are available on Wikipedia. Please note that for the 20th Century category, compositions must be written after 1915.

• Q: Which instruments are included in the 'instrumental' category?

  A: Orchestral string instruments only. Woodwinds, harp, and guitar have been eliminated from this category starting in 2019.

• Q: Can multiple contestants apply together?

  A: Each contestant must apply separately. If an applicant wishes to compete in multiple categories, they should apply to each category separately and pay a separate application fee for each category.

• Q: Must all works be memorized?

  A: All works must be memorized and performed from memory in the video submissions and live finals.

• Q: For accompanied works, must they be performed with accompaniment?

  A: All accompanied works must be performed with accompaniment in the video submissions.

• Q: What should I submit for a Composition entry?
  A: Composition entries must be submitted as a PDF file of the score, generated by a commonly recognized music notation program such as Finale or Sibelius. Depending on the type of composition entry you are submitting, you may also need to submit a live video performance recording or an an audio recording (either a computer-generated playback or live audio recording). See the Entry Information Pack for more details.

• Q: What are your requirements for video submissions?
  A: Videos must meet the following requirements. Note that if the judges deem the recording quality too poor to evaluate properly, or see signs of editing or audio manipulation, the contestant will be disqualified with no recourse.

  • Videos must be recorded live with no editing, reverb, or other audio filters or enhancements applied.

  • Videos must be recorded on or after July 22, 2022 (i.e. within 6 months of the application deadline).

  • For pianists, videos must be framed so that performer’s hands and feet (pedaling) are visible.

  • For string players, videos must be framed so both hands can be seen; the instrument’s f-holes (not the scroll) should point toward the camera.

  • For vocalists, videos must be framed so that the performer is visible from at least the waist up.

  • The microphone used for recording should be no more than 8 feet from the performer.

  • The recording space should be as acoustically “dead” as possible.