Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026
Grades 7 through 12
Registration: $70
Registration Ends: Sunday, January 25, 2026
Registration:
Due Date: Sunday, January 25, 2026
General Information:
*ALL QUESTIONS/COMMENTS SHOULD COME FROM TEACHERS ONLY: Email competition@azmusicfest.org*
Parents and students are not allowed to contact Musicfest staff to discuss any portion of the competition.
Teachers should take time to review all of the current Guidelines, and go over these Guidelines with the participating students and their parents.
- Performers must complete the application and submit the registration fee in order to perform. Early application is advised. It is possible that all available slots for performers will be filled before application deadline.
- The application must include the complete and accurate titles of the pieces to be performed, along with the full composer names, opus/catalog numbers (if applicable), movement designations (if applicable), and key signatures (if applicable).
- Performers must be Arizona residents.
- Performers must be in grades 7 through 12, no younger than 13 (acceptable if student is turning 13 within the school year) and no older than 18 years of age.
- Conflicts may be submitted in the application form’s comments section, but Arizona Musicfest does not guarantee that we will be able to accommodate all conflicts. No conflicts will be accepted after the application deadline.
- To edit your application information after submission, please return to the original confirmation email you received and follow the instructions in that email. No changes are allowed after the application deadline.
- No application refunds will be given in the event of performer withdrawal.
- Each teacher and performer must abide by all requirements and deadlines stated herein. Non-compliance will result in disqualification.
Date & Time:
- The Competition will be held on ________
- The times in the table below are the estimated window for each division.
- Divisions may begin earlier or later depending on the number of entrants
- Exact performance timeslots will be emailed out the week following the application due date.
- Performers may only perform during their division’s window
- The times in the table below are the estimated window for each division.
Music:
- Music chosen for the competition must be standard literature chosen from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modernist, or Contemporary periods by composers of renown and/or established pedagogical composers. Simplified versions and transcriptions are not accepted.
- Multiple movements from the work may be entered as one selection.
- If the performer’s piece(s) exceed the length of the allotted competition time, please note the judges may stop a performance in order to stay on schedule, with no penalty to the performer.
- Memorization is not required.
- Performers must provide three total copies of their score(s):
- Scores should not have markings that would indicate the performer or teacher’s identities.
- Score(s) must have measures numbered and cuts marked (if any) so the judges can use them as a reference during the performance.
- Scores will be checked at the Welcome Table for the above requirements and will be returned directly after the performance.
Location:
- The competition will be held at Arizona Musicfest: 7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy. Scottsdale, AZ 85255 (Map)
- One piano will be provided. If needed, ensembles must provide their own page turner.
Prizes:
- Up to three ensembles will be awarded cash prizes:
- First Prize: $450/member
- Second Prize: $350/member
- Third Prize: $200/member
- Awarded ensembles may be invited to perform in the Young Musicians Concert Series in the MIM Music Theater.
- Awarded ensembles may receive additional performance opportunities as they are announced.
Adjudication:
- Judges will stop ensembles if their performance exceeds the competition time limits. There is no penalty if an ensemble needs to be stopped for this reason.
- Prizes are awarded at the end of the competition to ensembles who display the highest level of artistic excellence.
- Judges may elect to award Honorable Mentions to ensembles demonstrating high levels of artistry in their performances.
- Judges have the option to withhold prizes.
- All ensemble coaches will receive judges’ comments within a week of the adjudication date.
- Musicfest’s competitions do not have a prescribed scoring system, and thus require that all judges hear all the competition participants to allow for proper verbal deliberation and a fair outcome. Since selective recusal is not allowed, by agreeing to be on this jury panel, the judges agree that they will not submit their own students as competitors. Furthermore, performers are ineligible to participate if they or their principal teacher have a familial relationship with a judge.
- The judges have full discretion over awarding decisions, which are final and cannot be challenged.
Getting Here
Community Room at Arizona Musicfest
7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Directions
7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy
7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85255, USA
Adjudication Panel
Melita Hunsinger
Melita Hunsinger joined the Phoenix Symphony as principal cellist in 2015. Previously Melita served as principal cellist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in Indiana.
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Melita graduated summa cum laude from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. She received her Master of Music degree from Rice University. Melita is indebted to her teachers, including Louis Potter, Jr., Norman Fischer, Paul Katz, and Chris French.
From 2002 to 2009 Melita held the position of principal cellist of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and, as a member of that orchestra’s resident string quartet, she performed over seventy-five chamber recitals throughout the state. She also appeared as soloist with the orchestra on two occasions, performing concertos by Saint-Saëns and Brahms.
While residing in Fort Wayne Melita performed regularly with the Grand Rapids Symphony, the South Bend Symphony, and the Richmond (IN) Symphony as principal cellist. Melita appeared as soloist with the Richmond Symphony in 2014, performing Victor Herbert’s second cello concerto. After joining the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as principal cellist, Melita was heard regularly in chamber recitals as a member of the orchestra’s resident string quartet.
The Phoenix Symphony’s 2016-2017 season featured Melita as soloist performing Leonard Bernstein’s Three Meditations from Mass. In addition to performing with the Phoenix Symphony, Melita enjoys regularly collaborating with her colleagues in chamber recitals throughout the valley.
Melita and her husband Jeff have two young children, Paul and Clara.
Karen Sinclair
Violinist Karen Sinclair holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, a Diploma of Postgraduate Performance from London’s Royal Academy of Music, and a Master of Music degree from Rice University. She made her solo debut at age eleven with the Philadelphia Orchestra and has returned to perform as a soloist with them on two other occasions. Her major teachers have included Jascha Brodsky, Yumi Ninomiya Scott, Gyorgy Pauk, Kathleen Winkler and William Preucil.
At the International Competition of Padua, Italy, Karen was awarded the top prize for Soloist with Orchestra, second prize for String Recital, and third prize for Virtuostic Recital and performed as soloist with the Bacau State Philharmonic of Romania. She was named the first prizewinner of the MTNA National Competition and the Delaware Contest for Young Musicians and was a top prizewinner at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland and the Austrian-American Society Competition. She was also a finalist in the Houston Symphony’s Ima Hogg Competition.
Karen has participated in many music festivals and courses both in the States and abroad including Aspen, Encore, Verbier, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Holland Music Sessions, Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Sarasota, Spoleto USA, Music Academy of the West, Musike France, Ticino Musica, Domaine Forget and Kneisel Hall. While a student in England, she studied viola with Yuko Inoue and performed at Wigmore Hall and at the Spitalfields Festival. She served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra in Ohio and was a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra. Other professional orchestral experience includes performances as a substitute member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Houston Symphony, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and as a member of the Akron Symphony, City Music Cleveland, Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus and the Canton Symphony with whom she appeared several times as soloist. Karen currently performs as a member of the Phoenix Symphony in Arizona and the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago.
Karen and Phoenix Symphony violist, Christopher McKay, are the founders of a chamber music partnership called Urban Nocturnes. The pair are artists-in-residency at Trinity Cathedral in downtown Phoenix, where they perform a series of chamber music concerts every season and provide musical contributions for a number of the church’s liturgical services. In addition, Urban Nocturnes performs chamber music at a wide range of unique venues around town and frequently collaborates with other Phoenix-based musicians. You can follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/urbannocturnes/.
Dr. Sabrina Hu
Dr. Sabrina Hu enjoys a versatile career as a performer, educator, and director. She has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the National Concert Hall in Ireland, and recitals throughout major halls in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Sabrina’s performances have been broadcast live on BBC, RTE and RTHK television and radio, and they have been described as “warm, sensitively balanced and flexible” with “emotional engagement…expressive depth” by the Irish Times. Sabrina is also an avid chamber musician. She is a founding member of Trio Festivale, has toured internationally, and commissioned many new works for flute, cello, and piano. She is a member of the Phoenix-based Woodwind Quintet, Mill Avenue Chamber Players.
Sabrina currently teaches at Phoenix College in Arizona and is the Artistic Director for the Walled City Music Festival in Derry, N. Ireland. Sabrina has performed in several orchestras, including the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the Wexford Opera Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony.