2023 ISA Young Artist Competition - Grand Finals

Timeline

***DEADLINE EXTENSION***
*Applications are now accepted through October 30, 2023

October 30*: Application deadline
October 20-November 10: Semi-finalists notified & interviews held
November 10: Finalists notified
December 2: Competition results announced (Zoom ISA event open to the public)

Required Materials

Excerpts
•Bluebird Fantasy for solo alto saxophone - SunYoung PARK
•Closer for two alto saxophones - Gilad HOCHMAN*

Choice Repertoire
•Senior: 20 minutes | Junior: 15 minutes

*You may choose your duo partner freely for HOCHMAN’s Closer. For example, you might choose a studio member, friend, teacher, or even a fellow competitor. You may also record both parts yourself and combine them for your submission. There is no restriction to the way you present your competition materials.

2023 ISA YAC Grand Finals Featured Composers

Download the excerpts for ISA’s 2023 YAC-GF commissioned works below:

• Senior YAC entrants (ages 18-30) must play either the Young Artist** or Professional* edition excerpts.

• Junior YAC entrants (ages 18 and below) may choose any of the three editions.

• *NEW* Young Artist edition now allows for your choice of 3 of 4 excerpts from Hochman’s Closer.

Commissioned specifically for the 2022/2023 ISA Young Artist Competition Grand Finals, SunYoung Park’s Bluebird Fantasy and Gilad Hochman’s Closer are available in three difficulty levels. Now, more saxophonists can participate in one of the most important and exciting aspects of a musician’s career, composer collaborations!

*The Professional edition is the original version, as the composers intended it, and is the most challenging form of the work.

**The Young Artist edition includes minor adjustments, optional altissimo, and in general, a difficulty level more suitable for saxophonists with slightly less experience throughout the full range of the instrument. This edition represents the middle difficulty level. Entrants may choose 3 of the 4 provided excerpts for Hochman’s Closer.

***The Apprentice edition is the most heavily redacted and should be viewed as an introduction to the core concepts of the work. This version represents the easiest difficulty level available, but our younger saxophonists will find plenty of challenges within this edition.

We created the Grand Finals for saxophonists who want to experience more than the typical classical music competition, which has historically been characterized by high-pressure performances that culminate in cash prizes for competition winners. At ISA, we aim to foster meaningful artistic and professional development opportunities for saxophonists at the earlier stages of their careers. The theme this year is recital production! Our prizes include tons of great merchandise, and yet we also provide a New York City recital and recording experience, complete with a photoshoot, community engagement opportunities, and more. Our true hope is that entrants will learn more about the professional concertizing process simply through participating in the Grand Finals. We look forward to working with you toward the collective advancement of the saxophone and to supporting artists in the most vital stages of their musical careers.

Questions?