YMC Senior Division: Final Round
66th Young Musicians Competition Senior Division: Final Round Scholarship Competition
Rules and Regulations
- 66th Annual Young Musicians Competition 2026 Rules and Regulations (PDF)
- SENIOR DIVISION ONLY: 66th Annual Young Musicians Competition 2026 Senior Division Scholarship Round Rules and Regulations (PDF)
- The Rules and Regulations PDF page must be printed, signed (by both competitor AND private lesson teacher), scan or take a photo, and uploaded. The Senior Division Scholarship Round Rules and Regulations PDF must be signed by the competitor. Senior Division upload BOTH documents by December 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM (MST).
- Senior Division Document Upload Page (includes both document uploads)
IMPORTANT DATES
Important Dates: Senior Division
- First Round of the competition will be held in person on Saturday, January 3, 2026 (in person).
- Location: Mesa Community College, Performing Arts Center. 1520 South Longmore, Mesa, AZ 85202.
- Time: TBD – Please hold availability for the full day.
* Time frames will be sent closer to the date. The full span of day for our judges will be 8:30 AM to 5 PM. A first draft of competition time assignments is anticipated to be sent by Friday, December 19, 2025. Any necessary adjustments will take place in subsequent weeks. Competitors should plan on being available for the entire day(s) on which they are competing. Factors that may affect scheduling include: Accompanists working with multiple musicians, musicians auditioning on multiple instruments, and unavoidable time conflicts. If a musician has a time conflict, it must be identified at the time of application.
- Finalists will be directly notified of their advancement by the end of the day on January 3, 2026. A general announcement of finalists will also be made by the end of the day on Saturday, January 3, 2026 via email.
- Finals will be held in person on Sunday, January 4, 2026.
- Location: Mesa Community College, Performing Arts Center. 1520 South Longmore Mesa, AZ 85202
- Time: TBD – Please hold availability for full day.
* Time frames will be sent closer to the date. Time slots will be sent out Saturday, January 3, 2026.
ELIGIBILITY
The top competitors from the Young Musicians Competition (YMC) First Round as selected by the judges will be eligible; up to 12 contestants.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL CONTESTANTS
- Completed YMC application and signed Rules and Regulations document uploaded online.
- Participation in the first round of the YMC and selected by the judges as being in the top twelve (12) competitors.
- Perform the same repertoire as performed the first round of the competition.
- Available Sunday, January 4, 2026, for Final Round performance.
YMC Final Round Selection and Performance Order Announcement
The Final Round performance order will be determined via random drawing on January 4, 2026, and distributed via email. Final Round participants will also be notified of their performance order and time in their notification of Final Round selection.
Senior Division: Final Round Scholarship Competition Awards
AWARDS
Contestants will be ranked by judges as to overall musical talent and preparedness for performing their concerto with The Phoenix Symphony. Judges’ deliberation will immediately follow the final performance on Sunday and the following awards will be announced in the concert hall following the deliberation: The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner; Second Prize; and Ranking for Awards.
The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner and Second Prize: Prizes are awarded based on consideration of the following criteria:
- Highest ranked contestant who has not previously received the The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize or Second Prize.
- No contestant can win the The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize or the Second Prize more than once. They may win each award once and perform with the Phoenix Symphony a total of two times.
- Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner and Second Prize winners will perform their concerto accompanied by The Phoenix Symphony at Symphony Hall, Thursday, March 18, 2026, at 6:30pm. In order to perform with The Phoenix Symphony, the winner must be available for all scheduled rehearsals: Saturday, March 14 at 10:00 am, and Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30pm (all rehearsal and performance dates/times are subject to change. Performance with The Phoenix Symphony is not guaranteed).
- For a winner to receive the summer scholarship they must remain in good standing as a member of PYSO through the end of the 2025-2026 season. If a student withdraws from PYSO during the remainder of the season or is placed on probation for attendance issues or behavior, their scholarship will be cancelled.
- The decision of the judges is final.
Festival and Camp Scholarships and Awards
Festivals vary from year to year, the full list of festivals that PYSO has a partnership with will be sent to the top 12 winners shortly after the final round. The PYSO Operations Manager will contact each contestant starting with the grand prize winner, offering 36 hours for the contestant to select a camp on the list (or a camp of their own choosing). After 36 hours, the Festival Partner List of remaining camps/scholarships will be sent to the second prize winner, and so on until everyone in the top 12 has selected a camp.
Students are responsible for camp admission and the audition process to the camp including all application fees. YMC results have no bearing on any camp’s specific admission process or acceptance into the camp.
* All rules, regulations, and prizes are subject to change with or without notice
If a scholarship is chosen from the Festival Partner List, the accepted finalist will receive a full scholarship to attend the festival or camp.
If the contestant does not wish to attend any of the festivals or camps still available at their time of choice, they may elect to take a monetary award toward another festival or camp of their choice. This award will be directed from PYSO to the festival or camp of the contestant’s choice.
This award will cover half of the total festival tuition, up to $2500 for any festival chosen outside of the Festival Partner List (This also pertains to choosing a camp on the list that has already had the scholarship claimed by another scholarship winner). Contestants who choose this option must submit documentation of acceptance to their selected festival as well as information about payment deadlines, payment recipient and total cost for their chosen festival. If the contestant does not submit all required documentation to PYSO in a timely manner, PYSO reserves the right to withhold payment to the contestant’s selected festival.
No contestant may attend a partner festival or camp on scholarship more than two times. Contestants who have been offered a scholarship must accept or decline their scholarship within two days of notification of being offered a scholarship.
Festival & Camp Scholarships may only be used for the summer of 2026 and may not be transferred to a later date without the permission of the PYSO Artistic Director.
Festival & Camp Scholarships may not be used for anything other than the Festival or Camp that the student has chosen to attend. The award may not be exchanged for a cash prize, nor may it be used for private lessons, college tuition, galas or any other activity not listed.
Music Camp Partnerships for YMC Scholarships
Scholarships are usually available to us from the following music camps (at estimated values based on summer 2015 or 2022*):
Adamant Music School (Piano), Adamant, Vermont $3000
Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Lenox, Massachusetts $2885-$6770
Bowdoin International Music Festival, Brunswick, ME $4150-$7350*
Brevard Music Center, Brevard, North Carolina $7850*
Eastern Music Festival, Greensboro, North Carolina $5786*
Greenwood Music Camp, Cummington, Massachusetts $6100
Idyllwild, California $3380*
Illinois Summer Youth Music, Utabana Illinois $650
Innsbrook Institute, Innsbrook, Missouri $1100
Interlochen Arts Camp, Interlochen, Michigan $9950*
Lamont Summer Music Academy, Denver, Colorado $2200*
Madeline Island Music Camp, Madeline Island, Wisconsin $3700*
Philadelphia International Music Festival, Williamstown, NJ $3550*
String Quartet Camp and Bass Workshop, Mesa, AZ $265