The European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) is a European umbrella organisation for about fifty national and international

music competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Examples ...

s for young people. Founded in the 1960s in order to develop the musical education of young Europeans, EMCY arranges concerts (with and without

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

), broadcasts, tours, award ceremonies, master classes and courses for competition prize winners throughout Europe. Every year, thousands of musicians under the age of twenty-five take part in EMCY member competitions. EMCY is a registered association under German law with an elected international board of five representatives, headed since 2012 by chairman Paul Scholer. Its registered office is in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany. In 2020 EMCY celebrated its 50th birthday. An anniversar
brochure
has been created to highlight the events from the last five decades.

EMCY board

The EMCY board is elected every four years at the general assembly. Current members are: *Paul Scholer,

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

(president) *Mária Slaninová,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

(vice president for national competitions) *, Lithuania (vice president for international competitions) *Àngels Civit Fons,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(board member for national competitions) *Boris Svetiev, Macedonia (board member for international competitions)

EMCY office

The EMCY office is located in Munich's Creative Quarter (Kreativquartier) in Schwere-Reiter-Str. 2B, 80637 Munich, Germany.

General assembly

The EMCY general assembly gathers, in general, every two years in a different European country at the invitation of an EMCY member competition. The last one was held in

in 2018, hosted by the Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes ( UGDA). General assemblies have been held in: *2002 – Altea (Spain): Juventudes Musicales de España *2004 –

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

(Croatia): HDGPP (Croatian national competition) *2006 –

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(Russia): Mravinsky International Competition for Youth *2008 –

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

(Ukraine): International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz *2010 –

Heerlen Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...

(Netherlands): International Charles Hennen Concours *2012 –

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

(Macedonia): International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls' *2014 – Luxembourg: Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+) *2016 –

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

(Lithuania): National Lithuanian Balys Dvarionas Piano & String Competition, the International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and the International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+) *2018 – Luxembourg: Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)

Member competitions

National competitions

Participation in these competitions is usually reserved for nationals or residents of the respective country. This often includes schools abroad, students at conservatoires or ex-patriates, however. * Österreichischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb prima la musica in Austria * podium.jazz.pop.rock... in Austria * The Papandopulo Croatian Competition of young musicians in Croatia * National Radio Competition of the Czech Republic 'Concertino Praga' in the Czech Republic * Oresund Soloist in Denmark / Sweden * Concours d'excellence – Confédération Musicale de France in France *

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for the ...

in Germany * National

Balys Dvarionas Balys Dvarionas ( in Liepāja — 23 August 1972 in Vilnius), was a Soviet and Lithuanian composer, pianist, conductor and educator. Dvarionas first became known as a composer after World War II. His works are in a romantic vein, with roots in f ...

Piano and String Competition in Lithuania * Concours Luxembourgoise pour Jeunes Solistes ( Union Grand-Duc Adolphe (UGDA)) in Luxembourg * Competition of the United Music and Dance Teacher of Macedonia in Macedonia * Netherlands Violin Competition in the Netherlands * Ungdommens Musikkmesterskap (Norwegian Music Competition for Youth) in Norway * Prémio Jovens Músicos in Portugal * EMCY Slovakia in Slovakia * TEMSIG – Slovenian Music Competition for Youth in Slovenia * Concurso Juventudes Musicales in Spain * SJMW Classica in Switzerland * SJMW Jazz&Pop in Switzerland

International competitions

These competitions are open to participants from all over the world. Many include categories which change every year. * International Competition Young Virtuosos in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Bulgaria * International Radio Competition for Young Musicians 'Concertino Praga' in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Czech Republic * Smetana International Piano Competition in Plzeň, Czech Republic * Aarhus International Piano Competition in Aarhus, Denmark * International Competition of Young Pianists dedicated to the Work of F. Chopin in

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...

, Estonia * Anna Amalia Competition for Young Guitarists in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, Germany * Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...

, Germany * International Competition for Violin, Kloster Schöntal in Schöntal, Germany *

International Franz Liszt Piano Competition The International Franz Liszt Piano Competition ("Liszt Competition") is an international piano competition. It is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The Competition is held in Utrecht in the Netherlands. It fir ...

, Germany * International

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, t ...

Competition for Young Violinists in

, Germany * Pianale International Academy and Competition in Schlitz, Germany * International

Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists in

, Lithuania * International

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

Competition for Violinists in

, Lithuania * International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls' in

, Macedonia * International Competition for Young Pianists

Artur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist.

in memoriam in Bydgoszcz, Poland * International Competition for Young Pianists 'A Step Towards Mastery' in

, Russia * International Television Contest for Young Musicians 'Nutcracker' in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Russia * Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition in Moscow, Russia * Mravinsky International Competition for Youth in Saint Petersburg, Russia * Peter Toperczer International Piano Competition Košice in Košice, Slovakia * International Competition for Young Pianists in memory of

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of al ...

, Ukraine * International

Vladimir Krainev Vladimir Krainev (russian: Влади́мир Все́володович Кра́йнев; 1 April 1944 – 29 April 2011) was a Russian pianist and professor of piano, People's Artist of the USSR. Biography Krainev was born in Krasnoyarsk, the ...

Young Pianists Competition in

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

, Ukraine *

Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists The Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists (or simply the Menuhin Competition) is an international music competition for violinists under the age of 22. It was founded by Yehudi Menuhin in 1983 with the goal of nurturing you ...

in the UK *International Competition “Glowing Harp”, Ukraine *International Competition of Musical Art “Kharkiv Assemblies”, Ukraine *Robert Schumann Competition for young pianists, Germany *International piano competition of Orléans for youth ‘Brin d’herbe’, France

Projects

EMCY works to help prize winners in their musical and personal development. Performance and training opportunities throughout Europe are arranged by EMCY, together with its member competitions and partners. These concerts, tours, workshops, and

master classes A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed. "Masterclass" is also ...

are international meeting points for young musicians. EMCY also holds conferences for competition organisers (most recently in Luxembourg in 2018) and music educators on particular themes.

External links

* {{Authority control Pan-European music organizations Music organisations based in Germany International organisations based in Germany Youth music competitions