Jo Amish Young Artist Competition and the Raymond Santirocco Memorial Piano Award
Open To Instrumentalists and Pianists in Grades 11 & 12
Each year the Penfield Symphony Orchestra holds auditions for the Jo Amish Young Artist Competition. It is open to students in grades 11 and 12 who live in Genesee, Orleans, Livingston, Seneca, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Wyoming, or Yates county. Eligible instruments are strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, harp, guitar, and piano.
Prizes
First Place: $400 and an appearance as a soloist with the PSO.
Second Place: $300
Third Place: $200
If any of the three winners play the piano, they will also receive the Raymond A. Santirocco Memorial Piano Award. This award was established by Berthe Santirocco to honor her husband, who was a pianist and a former member of the Penfield Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors. This additional cash award is $100.
Thank you for your interest in the
Jo Amish Young Artist Competition. Applications are closed for the 2025 competition. Please return to this site in the summer of 2025 for information about the 2026 Jo Amish Young Artist Competition.
Audition Requirements
- Contestants are expected to perform either the first or third movement of a concerto or a composition for solo instrument and orchestra in the standard repertoire.
- Memorization of audition material is recommended but not required.
- Piano accompaniment is required for all contestants. All applicants are to provide their own accompanist. Please abbreviate long tutti passages in the accompaniment.
- Each audition will last a maximum of ten minutes. Contestants may be interrupted at the discretion of the judges.
- A non-refundable fee of $20 must accompany each application. Checks are made out to Penfield Symphony Orchestra.
Note on repertoire selection: due to time and cost constraints, orchestral parts must be available from a publisher or rental agency in the USA. If you need help in verifying this, please contact the PSO office. Performance must be of the auditioned material.