
Young Artist
Competitions
Bolz Young Artist Competition
Preliminary Round: Saturday, October 26 (strings) and Saturday, November 2 (winds and piano), 2019, First United Methodist Church, Madison
Semi-Final Round: Monday, November 18, 2019, Overture Center for the Arts (Open to the public – RSVP here)
Final Round: Wednesday, February 26, 2020 (The Final Forte)
Registration for this competition is now closed. Thank you for your interest and please stay tuned for information on next year’s competition!
The Bolz Young Artist Competition is a highly-regarded statewide competition in which Wisconsin’s young musicians compete for scholarships and the opportunity to perform as soloists with the MSO. The competition is open to Wisconsin residents in grades 9-12 who play violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, harp, piano, percussion, saxophone, organ, or classical guitar. Previous winners may not compete in consecutive years on the same instrument. Contracted musicians of the MSO are ineligible.
The four semi-finalists compete in The Final Forte, which is broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television. Winners of the Bolz Young Artist Competition are featured as soloists with the MSO during the Spring Young People’s Concert. Each winner also receives a $2000 scholarship and the Marian Bolz Prize for Distinguished Musical Achievement or the Steenbock Youth Music Award. Up to two Honorable Mention scholarships of $1000 may also be awarded.
Contact MSO Director of Education and Community Engagement Kathryn Schwarzmann at kschwarzmann@madisonsymphony.org with any questions.
Thank you to our partners
The Bolz Young Artist Competition is made possible by a generous endowment from
The Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Foundation
Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte concert and broadcasts are the result of a historic partnership among
Major funding provided by
Diane Ballweg
Fred and Mary Mohs
Julie and Larry Midtbo
Joe and Mary Ellyn Sensenbrenner
Stephen Morton
Additional funding provided by
A. Paul Jones Charitable Trust
Ann and Roger Hauck
Sentry Insurance Company
James Dahlberg and Elsebet Lund
David and Kato Perlman
Marc Vitale and Darcy Kind
W. Jerome Frautschi
Cyrena and Lee Pondrom
Friends of Wisconsin Public Television
Special thanks to Farley’s House of Pianos for providing the pianos for our Young Artist Competition auditions
