A key part of our Mission, for the last 30 years Musicfest has identified, supported, and promoted numerous aspiring Young Musicians from around the Valley of the Sun and Tucson area.
Through our highly-regarded Competitions, each year Musicfest supports Young Musicians with commentary, praise, and critique from some of the area’s finest musicians. Standout participants earn prizes and performance opportunities through our Young Musicians Concerts in the MIM Music Theater. These extraordinary students are also invited to Masterclasses and Private Lessons with some of our featured Festival Performers. As students transition their studies to the collegiate level, Musicfest proudly sponsors two first-year and four continuing students pursuing undergraduate studies through the Musicfest Scholarship Program.
Select from the tabs on the left to find out more!
Young Musicians CompetitionsThe Young Musicians Competition recognizes the outstanding talents of young musicians, provides a space where young competitors can perform for and receive evaluations from respected judges, and distributes monetary awards to winners who may also earn opportunities to perform as part of the Arizona Musicfest concert series.
Click below for competition details, rules, and applications:
Arizona Musicfest ScholarshipSince 2011, the Arizona Musicfest Scholarship Program has generously awarded over ninety thousand dollars to Arizona students pursuing college degrees in music.
Arizona Musicfest Scholarship recipients are currently pursuing or have recently earned degrees from the following distinguished institutions:The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory of Music, The Cleveland Institute of Music, USC’s Thornton School of Music, Biola University, Arizona State University, The Eastman School of Music, Vanderbilt University, and Curtis Institute of Music.
Learn about past recipients and find application information through the link below!
During the 2022-2023 season, Arizona Musicfest will produce a series of three Young Musicians Concerts at the MIM Music Theater in Phoenix. Join us and experience virtuosity from the start! Follow the links below to purchase tickets:
Free drum circles led by Frank Thompson
Children, six months to three years, will grow, learn and connect through music in this engaging music series. Utilizing developmental music therapy techniques, Music Makers and Shakers aims to increase children’s social-emotional, motor and cognitive skills. Miss Emily, a board-certified music therapist, will engage young minds and bodies with live acoustic accompaniment and a range of musical instruments for young ones and their caregivers to explore. This will be an inclusive class where children of all abilities are welcome including neuro-divergent children, children with developmental delays and typically developing children. Please note that baby siblings younger than 6 months can come but are not counted as part of the class.
New to the uke? Start here!
Guitar Strummers at AZ Musicfest will assist beginner to intermediate players in growing their foundational skills to expressively play the guitar in group or personal leisure settings. The following skills will be developed: chord memorization, chord transitions, finger dexterity, accuracy and quality of chord sound, strumming patterns and fingerpicking accompaniment styles. Participants will receive instructor individual support on personal project songs as well as given ample opportunity to play with the other players in class.
Join your fellow music lovers us as we celebrate the holidays with food, games, and live music featuring Josh and Lexy Condon! Come and go as you please, and be prepared to make new friends!
Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon. Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation. Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles! Coffee and refreshments provided. Each year, we hear the same old songs again and again on the radio. Some we love, and some, well, we don't! But in the search for creating new material for the holidays, musical composers' and artists' imaginations have surely run wild at times. Join us as venture through a playlist of THE most hysterical, outrageous, and off-the-wall songs to ever give yuletide joy! You can also contribute your ideas for the playlist by emailing YouTube links to Josh Condon at josh@azmusicfest.org.
One of Musicfest's former Young Musicians
Our Club Musicfest series brings you special evening performances combining wine and cheese with some of the Valley’s best jazz musicians.
