In the midst of the pandemic in 2021, Festival of the Arts Boca saw how much music students were suffering from the absence of performance opportunities. We decided to help by launching a new music competition for Palm Beach and Broward County music students aged 18 and younger.
Strings students were featured in the first year, submitting videos of their performances. Our judges viewed them from their homes and then convened via Zoom to choose the winners. All the applicants were invited to an online live announcement ceremony, and a winners’ concert was produced and broadcast as part of the 2021 Virtual Festival of the Arts Boca.
Submissions are still made via video, and judging is done virtually. However, since 2022, the first, second, and third place winners are presented with their awards on stage during a Festival concert. Our winners in 2022 even got to perform live on stage with jazz flutist Nestor Torres! The first-place winner is invited to perform at a Festival concert the following year.
Announcements and calls for submissions go out in the fall, and entries are due by mid-December.
Cash prizes for the winners are as follows: 1st Place - $5,000; 2nd Place - $3,000; 3rd Place - $1,500
Congratulations to the winners of the
Festival of the Arts 3rd Annual Music Competition!
1st Place - Jinyang Li
2nd Place - Willem Meze Sainvil
3rd Place - Leandro El-Baroudi
1st Place - Kara Ravaschieri, flute
2nd Place - Ellen Dahlstrom, oboe
3rd Place - Ella Martling, trumpet
1st Place - Annabella Paolucci, violin & Julianna Bramble, viola
2nd Place - Gabe Rodriguez, cello & Leonardo Rincon, violin
3rd Place - Elena Lim, violin & David Xiao, violin
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