2026 Youth Artist Competitions

When
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Location
Recorded Preliminary Round

Registration

Youth Artist Division Competitor – $55.00
Register for the Youth Artist Competition

Youth Artist Divisions

Competition Details:

This season, the Youth Artist Competitions will have a recorded preliminary-round, due February 14th, 2026 by 11:59 PM. The final round for all three competitions will be conducted at the Spring Festival (date TBA).

Time limits exclude any time between pieces or movements. The program should include pieces in a variety of diverse styles and periods.

This may include single movements of works, sonatas, and unaccompanied pieces. It is not necessary to perform all movements of a single work. An individual movement of a work needs to be performed in its entirety, but cuts may be made in the accompaniment and repeats may be deleted.

Accompanied pieces must be performed with the accompaniment.

The Youth Artist Competitions are open to students through and including 12th grade.
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).
Previous 1st prize winners are not eligible to compete in the same division in following years.
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.

**Please see very bottom of page for recording requirements**

Click below to jump to specific competitions:

Youth Artist Senior

Youth Artist Junior

Youth Artist Elementary

CASH PRIZES

Level	Cash Prize (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
Youth Artist Senior	$300, $200, $150
Youth Artist Junior	$200, $150, $100
Youth Artist Elementary	$150, $100, $50

Youth Artist Senior

(Up to and including 12th Grade)

Awards: 1st place: $300, 2nd place: $200, 3rd place: $150

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 all flutists in 12th Grade or below.

Recorded round repertoire: - Tango Etudes for Solo Flute or Violin, No. 3, Astor Piazzola (Henry Lemoine)
Final In-Person Round: Finalists’ choice 12 minute program

Piano accompaniment is not mandatory, but encouraged 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.
12 min. 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.
Finalists are welcome to use as much of their 12 minute time slot as they would like, but will not be penalized for a performance that is less than 12 minutes.

Youth Artist Junior

(Up to and including 9th Grade)

Awards: 1st place: $200, 2nd place: $150, 3rd place: $100

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 all flutists in 9th Grade or below.

Recorded round repertoire: - 12 Fantasias for Flute without Bass, TWV 40:2-13, No. 5 Fantasia in C: (Breitkopf & Härtel) I. Presto & Largo (measure 1-24) III. Allegro (play all repeats)
Piano accompaniment is not mandatory, but encouraged for all works with piano accompaniment, SDFG will provide a list of local pianists for finalists to reach out to.

Final In-Person Round: Finalists’ choice 10 minute program. 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.
10 min. 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.
Finalists are welcome to use as much of their 10 minute time slot as they would like, but will not be penalized for a performance that is less than 10 minutes.

Youth Artist Elementary

(Up to and including 6th Grade)

Awards: 1st place: $150, 2nd place: $100, 3rd place: $50

6 finalists to be chosen to perform in the open live round at the Spring Festival from the recorded round

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 all flutists in 6th Grade or below.

Recorded round repertoire: - 30 Études faciles et progressives pour la flûte, No. 7 Study in F, Giuseppe Gariboldi (Augener & Co.)

Final In-Person Round: Finalists’ choice 8 minute program
Piano accompaniment is not mandatory, but encouraged 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.
8 min. 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.
Finalists are welcome to use as much of their 10 minute time slot as they would like, but will not be penalized for a performance that is less than 10 minutes.

________________________________________________________________________________________

RECORDING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL COMPETITIONs

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 (if applicable).
Recordings must be complete and unedited (recording breaks between movements are acceptable, if applicable).

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

Competitors on every level who do not pass to the final, in-person rounds are invited to showcase their talents in the adjudicated Festival Division during the Spring Festival 2025. No extra fee required.

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