ACO's Annual Pearl Amster Competition Festival

The annual Pearl Amster Concerto Competition Festival spotlights exceptional young musicians, eighteen years of age or less, from the central Texas area and is named in honor of Pearl and Gustav Amsters' long-time dedication to furthering the growth and development of performance opportunities for budding musicians. Begun in 1984, this juried competition awards college scholarships (funded in 2000 by a grant from the Webber Family Foundation) to multiple winners and also gives them the opportunity to perform as soloists in concert with the Austin Civic Orchestra in the annual Pearl Amster Youth Festival Concerto Concert. Since its inception, the Pearl Amster Concerto Competition has honored 67 talented young musicians.

This year's competition will be held on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at The University of Texas at Austin's School of Music. To enter the competition you must submit an application and a recording by mail, postmarked by November 2nd, 2007.

Please note: the rules for the competition are part of the application document.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Pat Surguy, Chair of the Competition Committee.

Click here to find out about the 2007 winners.

Notable past winners include:

• Pianist Angela Alonzo who won in 1993 and 1994, was recently featured on NPR's From the Top series. Angela had her Carnegie Hall debut in January 2002.
• Warren Hood is a violinist and son of guitarist Champ Hood (who toured with Lyle Lovett). Warren has performed with Charlie Robinson, the Austin Symphony, and currently performs with the South Austin Jug band and is a frequent guest artist with Tish Hinojosa.
• An early winner, Eri Lee Lam is now Violin Professor and Chamber Music Director at Southwestern University in Georgetown.
• Katie Frank, who won in 1999, was accepted into the finals of the Pinault International Piano Competition in New York. Katie recently performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall.
• Mary Elizabeth Box was a 2003 winner and is now a Freshman at the Eastman School of Music, majoring in piano performance.
• Chris Guzman was 14 when he won in 1995. He recently received his BA in performance from Julliard and is currently working on his MA. He is also touring and has performed twice in Tokyo and with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
• Carrie Rodriguez, who won in 1995 and 1996, attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music in Boston. She is currently touring and has a hit CD with Chip Taylor.