2026 Young Artist Competition

When
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Location
Recorded Preliminary Round

Registration

Young Artist Competitor – $55.00
The SDFG Young Artist Competition is open to flutists age 18-30 (as of April 13th, 2025).

All entrants must be must be logged in as a member of the San Diego Flute Guild to register.

“First Place” winners from previous years are not eligible.

Young Artist Competition

(age 18-30)

Awards: 1st place: $1000, 2nd place: $750, 3rd place: $500

At least 3, and up to 6 finalists to be chosen from the recorded round to perform in the live round at the Spring Festival, open to the public.

Eligibility

First Place Prize Winners from previous years are not eligible.
All entrants must be members of the San Diego Flute Guild at the time of application. Open to players from age 18-30 as of the day of the final round.

Recorded round repertoire: - Sonata in G minor, BWV 1020, J.S Bach (Any edition) II. Adagio III. Allegro (no repeats, ornaments optional). Wild Riot of the Shaman’s Dream, Michael Colgrass (Colgrass Music). Piano accompaniment is not mandatory, but recommended.

Final round repertoire: - Cobalt Blue for flute and piano, Jenni Brandon (Jenni Brandon Music) I. The Great Pyramid II. The Grand Prix (R to end to be performed on flute, not piccolo) - Finalists choice of repertoire up to 18 minutes, totaling a 25 minute program.
Accompaniment is mandatory for all works with piano accompaniment, SDFG will provide a list of local pianists for finalists to reach out to.
Diverse selection of compositions, composers, historical periods, and styles is highly encouraged.
Individual movements from larger works are permitted, but must be played in its entirety.
Modifying accompaniments and omitting repeats is permissible.
Arrangements/transcriptions of works not originally written for the flute are acceptable.
Final round must only be performed on C flute, not other instruments of the flute family (piccolo, alto flute, etc.).
25 minute time limit excludes any time between pieces/movements.
Final round selections and corresponding pdf scores are to be submitted at the time of application with the recorded round. Changes to the final round selections will not be allowed after this time.
Program order is up to the finalist.

Finalists are welcome to curate a program that utilizes as much of their allotted time as possible, but not at the expense of their artistic vision. Finalists will not be penalized for a program that is less than 25 minutes, and sufficiently demonstrates their artistry in a well-rounded program.

COMPETITION DATES

Round	Date
Preliminary Recorded Round Deadline (audio)	February 14th, 2026 (by 11:59pm PST)
Finalists Notified	TBA
Final Round (in-person)	TBA

ENTRY FEES, ELIGIBILITY, REQUIREMENTS, & OBLIGATIONS

The SDFG Young Artist Competition is open to flutists age 18-30 (as of the final round date, TBA Spring 2026).
Entry Fee: $55 (does not include SDFG Membership Fee, and is non-refundable).
- All entrants must be members of the San Diego Flute Guild (may join with entry).
First Place Prize Winners from previous years are not eligible.
Entrants will be chosen from the Preliminary Recorded Round to compete as finalists. The entry form, recordings/supplemental materials, and fees must be submitted by February 14th, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
Finalists will compete in person at the San Diego Flute Guild 2026 Spring Festival, date and venue TBA
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes and Honorable Mention(s) will be awarded per the judges’ discretion. There are no ties. Judges' decisions are final.

RECORDING REQUIREMENTS

Preliminary Round Recordings:

Recordings must be in mp3/m4a/wav/aiff audio format (no videos will be accepted as this is an anonymous round).
For identification purposes, name your files as your first initial and last name followed by the composer’s name (i.e. S.Smith.Bach.mp3)
Please do not talk or identify yourself in any way on your submitted recordings.
The two pieces must be submitted as one audio file each.
Recordings must be complete and unedited (recording breaks between movements are acceptable).

Note: All recorded files will be coded and numbered for anonymity before being submitted to the Preliminary Recorded Round adjudication panel.

**We are not able to guarantee personal scheduling accommodations. No refunds available for competition registration fees, or for membership fees.

Should you have any questions or require further information, feel free to contact SDFG Competition Coordinator at competitions@sandiegofluteguild.org.

Email Us:
SanDiegoFluteGuild@gmail.com