Competitions

Peabody sponsors several annual prize competitions, through the generosity of various donors. Students should check competition guidelines, with dates, eligibility, repertoire requirements, procedural details and deadlines with the Concert Office. Previous first-prize winners are not eligible to enter the same competition a second time. Students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in major lessons to be eligible to compete in Peabody competitions.

Competitions Managed by the Concert Office

  • The Virginia Carty DeLillo Composition Competition is offered biennially to any Conservatory composition major enrolled for lessons. Entrants submit one composition of any style, length, or instrumentation. First prize includes a $1,000 cash award and performance of the winning work at a public Peabody concert, if feasible. Second prize is $500.
  • In the Peggy and Yale Gordon Concerto Competition, students compete for a $1,500 cash prize and a performance with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, a recital on the Homewood campus, and additional recitals scheduled by the Yale Gordon Trust. This competition rotates annually in the areas of strings, piano, and orchestral instruments. Second prize is $750.
  • The Macht Orchestral Composition Competition is for composition majors and is designed to provide a premiere public performance for new works for orchestra. Entries must have been written for a standard symphonic orchestra or chamber orchestra during the student’s period of enrollment at Peabody. The works submitted must also have been played through in a Peabody orchestral reading session and the composer must be enrolled for major lessons during the year. Held annually since 2000, the competition winner receives a prize and a performance of the winning work at a Peabody public concert.
  • The Sylvia L. Green Voice Competition is held biennially for junior, senior, or graduate-level voice students. Doctoral students are eligible if they are enrolled for major lessons. Contestants perform one or more works of chamber orchestra size or larger. Excerpts from opera or oratorio are not acceptable. First prize is $1,500 plus a performance with a large Peabody instrumental ensemble. Second prize is $750.
  • The William Marbury Prize is awarded each year to an outstanding undergraduate violin student through a juried competition. The competition award includes a major public recital, as well as a $1,000 cash prize.  Second prize is $500. Any undergraduate violin major enrolled in a degree or certificate program is eligible to enter this competition upon the major teacher’s recommendation.
  • The Harrison L. Winter Piano Competition was established in 1990 in tribute to a former chairman of Peabody’s Board of Trustees. It is scheduled on a two-years on, one-year off basis. The first prize winner receives a $1,000 cash prize and a performance with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. The second prize is $500.
  • The Vocal Studies Song Competition is open to sophomores, juniors, seniors, MM, GPD, AD, and DMA students. The applicable language requirements for juries among the various class levels will apply to this competition. Only non-orchestral/non-operatic/non-chamber song repertoire will be permitted. Each singer should present a list of classical songs—4 songs for undergraduate level and 6 songs for graduate level. These songs should represent a variety of languages applicable to their class level requirement. The graduate competitors must include at least one song composed after 1950. All songs are required to be memorized.

Other Competitions

  • The Prix d’Eté Competition was endowed by Walter Summer in 1994 and established to encourage composition and computer music majors to compose new chamber works exploring new dimensions in performance, instrumentation and multimedia. Held annually, entries in alternate years must demonstrate significant use of music technologies. The first prize includes $1,000, and a performance of the winning work. Details may be obtained from the Computer Music Faculty.
  • The Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts is a University-wide $1,500 prize offered for excellence in performance, execution or composition in one of the arts as an advocational activity. Peabody seniors may compete in any artistic area except music (i.e. writing, visual arts, dance, film, etc.). Complete information about the Sudler Prize is available on the Sudler Prize website.