Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition

Welcome to the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition 

This annual competition honors the top young violin, viola, and cello players, ages 18-25, from major national and international conservatories.

The competition will not be held in 2024 while the Hudson Valley Philharmonic is reorganized.


Our 2023 winners are:
First place - William Suh, cello
Second Place - Isaac Park, violin
Third Place - Tien-Lin Yang, violin
Randall Craig Fleischer Prize - Davis You, cello

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Instituted in 1966 under Claude Monteux, former director of the Philharmonic, with the exception of a five-year hiatus the Competition has added to the diversity of cultural offerings in the Hudson Valley and provided serious-minded, young classical musicians an opportunity to further their careers. Winners from past years have advanced with performances at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and with symphony orchestras in the US and abroad, as faculty members at conservatories worldwide, in winning international prizes, and as members of esteemed Chamber music ensembles. 

The first prize winner receives a cash award of $4,000. They will perform their winning concerto as guest soloist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic as scheduling permits. They will also have the opportunity to travel to Italy for a week in August to perform a recital at the Musical Landscapes of Tuscany festival. There will be only ONE first place winner. 
Second prize receives $2,000; third prize, $1,000. In the case of a tie between second and third places, the prizes will be added together and then split.

In 2021, a new $1000 prize was established in honor of Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer who passed away in August, 2020. Competitors may compete for this prize, however it is optional and will not affect judging of the other prizes.
The entry shall be a video recording of any non-classical piece of the competitors choosing. The video should be approximately 3 to 5 minutes long. It should feature the competitor but may include other musicians. Maestro Fleischer loved to combine classical orchestras with jazz, rock, pop, folk and other genres of music, and submissions for this prize should be in that spirit. For more information, please contact the HVP String Competition.


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