Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition

Welcome to the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition 50th year!

This annual competition honors the top young violin, viola, and cello players, ages 18-25, from major national and international conservatories. This extremely competitive weekend will take place at Vassar College's Skinner Hall in Poughkeepsie, NY on March 10-12, 2023.


Our 2022 winners are:
First place - Hana Mundiya, violin
Second Place - Arjun Ganguly, viola
Third Place - Derek Louie, cello
Randall Craig Fleischer Prize - Derek Louie, cello

Subscribe to Our Email List!

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.

In the unlikely event of a COVID resurgence this fall or winter, it is possible that Vassar College will close again to outside visitors. If that happens we will switch to a virtual competition, like those held in 2021 and 2022.  All applicants will be contacted as soon as possible about how to proceed.

For technical questions, please visit the Acceptd Help Desk.