YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions

Preliminary Round Dates:

• Piano: September 10 & 11
• Winds and Brass: September 15
• Harp: September 15
• Los Angeles Preliminary Round: September 20
• Cello: September 23
• Violin and Viola: September 24 & 25
• Voice: September 28
• Ensembles: September 15, 24 & 25

Semi-Final Round: November 4-6, 2026
Final Round: Sunday, November 8, 2026
Winners Concert: November 9, 2026

Winners of the YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions represent the future of classical music, and we invest in their careers so they may spend a lifetime bringing the gift of music to audiences around the world. YCA seeks extraordinary artists who show potential for major careers as leading classical musicians, demonstrate technical and artistic mastery, and are ready to actively partner with YCA in their professional development. Through its rigorous annual audition process, three to four artists, including the YCA Ensemble-in-Residence, will be selected to join the YCA roster as Jacobs Fellows by a distinguished jury. Laureate Prizes to be awarded to up to three additional finalists recognizing exceptional talent and promise.

All Winners Receive

• Minimum three-year comprehensive artist management contract 
• Debut recitals in New York City and Washington, D.C. presented in prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall
• Orchestra and recital bookings with leading presenters & conductors across the globe
• Tailored one-on-one mentorship with a YCA alumnus/a
• Real world paid opportunities in education and community engagement, including on the ground training in New York City and Washington, D.C.
• YCA Debut Album & Film, produced for commercial release in partnership with a record label for global audio and video distribution
• Access to funding for special projects including commissions, multi-media, collaborations, and more
• Access to prestigious partner organizations

Partner Organizations

• Carnegie Hall – co-presenting a New York debut for one YCA Jacobs Fellow
• The Violin Channel – broadcasting New York debut recitals to a global audience
• Skillman Music – livestreaming New York debuts in multi-cam, 4k video

Artists who meet the criteria below may apply:

• Musicians at the beginning of a solo career who are not under North American management (see exceptions below)
• Artists joining the YCA roster are required to hold valid U.S. work authorization valid as of November 8, 2026. (YCA works to assist roster artists in obtaining or maintaining this authorization; however, we cannot guarantee approval or continuation of work authorization.)
• Instrumentalists must be 16 to 28 years old, singers must be 20 to 30 years old, and the average age of ensembles must be 30 or less, as of November 8, 2026.
• Winners must be available to perform concert engagements in North America for a minimum of six weeks (two three-week periods) between September and May of each concert season.
• Musicians who have applied in previous years may re-apply at the discretion of Young Concert Artists by offering new repertoire. If you auditioned in 2025, you do not need to submit letters of recommendation.
• Young Concert Artists welcomes applications from chamber ensembles, percussionists and unusual instruments. The 2026 auditions are closed to the following: accordion, piano trio, piano duo (two pianos) and saxophone.

Eligibility exceptions for artists with management:

• Artists already under management outside of North America: along with your application, please submit a letter from your management to Young Concert Artists with the following statement:

“In the interest of developing a career in North America for [artist’s name], I hereby give permission and approval for [artist’s name] to enter the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and agree, without reservation, that should [artist’s name] be selected as a winner of the Auditions, he/she may be represented by Young Concert Artists on an exclusive basis for all engagements in North America for a period of three years; that I will make available to Young Concert Artists a minimum of two three-week periods between September and May of each season in his/her schedule for North American engagements; and that I will take no commission on engagements booked by Young Concert Artists.”

• Singers already under management who wish to perform non-opera engagements through Young Concert Artists: along with your application, submit a letter from your management to Young Concert Artists with the following statement:

“In the interest of developing a new public for a wide variety of vocal repertoire, and in creating new performance opportunities for young singers, I hereby give permission and approval for [singer’s name] to enter the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and agree, without reservation, that should [singer’s name] be selected as a winner of the Auditions, he/she may be represented by Young Concert Artists on an exclusive basis for non-opera engagements in North America for a period of three years.”

"Using these criteria, Young Concert Artists reserves the right to accept or reject applications."

***Final deadline: Monday, August 3, 2026 ($95 fee)***

In your application you will be asked to submit the following:

• Biography or résumé
• High Resolution Headshot 
• Two letters of recommendation from professional musicians specifically describing your potential for a concert career. (Recommenders must submit their letters directly to the application portal by Monday, August 31, 2026.)
• $95 Application fee. Once your application has been accepted, this fee is non-refundable. YCA offers application fee waivers on the basis of financial need. For more information, contact auditions(at)yca.org.

After submitting your application, we will notify you once it has been approved. At that point, your participation in the 2026 auditions will be confirmed. We will be in touch to schedule the exact date and time of your live audition.

Format of the Preliminary & Semi-Final Round Live Audition: During your live audition, you will perform selections from the works you have submitted in your application. Each preliminary round audition will last approximately 15 minutes, and the semi-final audition will last approximately 20 minutes. In both rounds, you will choose the first work in your audition. If that work is longer than 6-7 minutes, the jury may interrupt you so that there is time to hear other works. For the remainder of the audition, the jury will select the works they would like to hear next. You will not know in advance which works they will ask you to perform. If you are advanced to the semi-final round, you will be heard by an entirely new jury.

Format of the Final Round Audition: If you are advanced to the final round, you will create a 25-minute program, which you’ll perform as a mini-recital for the Final Auditions jury and live audience. This program may draw upon repertoire from earlier rounds, or you may introduce new works.

Results: If you are selected to advance to the semi-final round, you will be notified in the first week of October.

Selection Process: Winners are selected by a jury of distinguished musicians. The criteria are exceptional musicianship, virtuosity, individuality, projection as a performer, and promise. Musicians compete against a standard of excellence, not each other.

Accompanists: you are responsible for providing your own pianist (and page turner) if needed. If you need help finding a pianist, please contact auditions(at)yca.org.

Please note: you are responsible for travel, housing and other expenses related to your participation in the auditions.

Live Audition Repertoire: Preliminary & Semi-final Rounds

Applicants will prepare approximately 60 minutes or more of music consisting of complete works in the categories below.

If you have a compelling reason for proposing a program that does not follow these guidelines, please contact auditions(at)yca.org. All repertoire must be approved by Young Concert Artists.

We encourage you to memorize the music on your program (except for chamber music). If you have questions about using a score during your audition, please contact auditions(at)yca.org.

Piano, Strings, Guitar, Flute

• A suite, partita, or other large-scale multi-movement work of J.S. Bach
• A sonata or major work from the Classical or Romantic era
• A work written after 1960
• Two additional works of your choice* (strings and flute: one of these must be a concerto)
  • *Pianists choosing from The Well-Tempered Clavier must include at least two sets of preludes and fugues.
  • *Strings and flute: for the live preliminary round and live semi-final round auditions, one of these works must be a concerto. If you are submitting recordings for the preliminary round, a concerto is welcome but not required.

Other Woodwinds, Brass, Harp, & Other Instruments

• A sonata or major work from the Classical or Romantic era
• A work written after 1960
• Three additional works of your choice**
  • **For the live preliminary round and live semi-final round auditions, one of these works must be a concerto. If you are submitting recordings for the preliminary round, a concerto is welcome but not required.

Voice

Prepare a program of 45 minutes or more that includes at least 3 languages. One of the languages must be English (all works in English must be originally written in English), one selection must be written after 1960, and at least one selection must be an operatic aria. Your program should be stylistically varied, and may include selections from the art song tradition, opera, cabaret, or contemporary repertoire. Please organize the order of your selections as you would for a recital program. If you have a compelling reason to propose a program that does not follow these guidelines, please contact auditions(at)yca.org.

String Quartets & Piano Trios

• A work by Haydn or Mozart
• A work written after 1960
• Two additional works of your choice

Other Ensembles

Present a varied program consisting of four works totaling 60 minutes or more of music. Your program may follow the guidelines above, though you are free to offer alternatives as appropriate for your ensemble. Please include a written statement describing the reasons for choosing your program.

Recorded Audition Repertoire

Instrumentalists and Ensembles: the repertoire requirements for instrumentalists and ensembles submitting recordings are the same as for the live preliminary audition. Please see above.

Voice: Five works representing at least two different languages. One work must be an operatic aria.

Accepted media (files must be uploaded to the Acceptd application portal): MPEG, MPG, MP4, OGG, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, VOB, FLV, up to 4.8GB

Audio: MP3, OGG, M4A, WMA, WAV, AA, FLAC, up to 750MB

Please note: video recordings are preferred to audio recordings. At least one of your submissions must be a video.

Recordings may be submitted instead of giving a live preliminary audition. Recordings from live performances or commercial recordings are acceptable. The repertoire for your recorded audition can be different from what you will perform in the live semi-final and final rounds.

Applicants from the recorded preliminary round who advance to the semi-final round must travel to New York City for the live semi-final auditions.

YCA Jacobs Fellowship

Winners of the auditions join the YCA Roster and receive the YCA Jacobs Fellowship. Named for a generous gift from Joan* and Irwin Jacobs, this transformative three-year program offers holistic suite of resources including artist management services with bookings in numerous performance engagements with leading presenters across the globe; debut recitals in New York City and Washington D.C.; ongoing mentorship by YCA leadership and alumni; training in education and community engagement projects; individual brand development which includes a photoshoot guided by a top-tier creative director and stylist; a professional video shoot; and special projects including video recordings, commissions, and collaborations. The YCA Jacobs Fellowship kicks off with the 21st Century Artist Incubator, a 14-month intensive artist training program that guides artists through developing a toolkit including engagement best practices, social media and website review and development, and more.

YCA Laureate Prizes

In addition to the three to four winners, the jury will select up to three finalists to receive a Laureate Prize, recognizing exceptional talent and promise. Laureate Prize recipients do not join the YCA roster, but receive a $5,000 career development grant and an invitation to return to the Semi-Final Round of the Auditions in one of the next three audition cycles, provided they still meet the eligibility requirements.

YCA Ensemble-in-Residence

Selected by the YCA jury through the annual audition process, the Ensemble-in-Residence will join the YCA Roster, collaborate extensively with YCA soloists and composers, and receive debut recitals presented by YCA in New York City and Washington, DC. They will also participate in the YCA Jacobs Fellowship program and receive a holistic combination of resources including artist management services with bookings in numerous performance engagements across the continent, training in education and community engagement, portfolio assets, and ongoing mentorship by YCA leadership and alumni. All ensembles are encouraged to apply. Ensembles must reside in North America for the duration of the residency.