42nd Annual New England Saxophone Symposium & Competition

High school students may apply for the Gerry’s Music High School Competition in either the Jazz or Classical area. Application is free. Prizes include $300 in gift cards to Gerry’s Music Shop, plus winners will be given a special performance opportunity at the Symposium. The first-round submission deadline is January 15, 2025. Register online.

All participants of both the classical and jazz competition will be notified by February 1 as to whether they have advanced to the final round. Finalists will receive written feedback from the panel. The final round takes place at the Symposium on March 1.

Finalists and semifinalists in either competition may be invited for a complimentary lesson Professor Hulting-Cohen and/or Professor Salles.

Contact Sarin Ritter-Raven at @email with any questions or issues.

Recorded Round: Submit unedited video of a live performance or two contrasting movements or pieces totaling eight minutes or more. We will not accept etudes, but we welcome a single longer work with both lyrical and technical demands, such as the Glazunov Concerto. You may perform solo pieces or pieces with piano. You may record each selection separately or as one file, and you may use prerecorded accompaniment if you wish.

Live (Final) Round: If selected, you will perform up to 10 minutes at the Symposium, solo or with piano, as appropriate. We will have a pianist available to you, or you may bring your own.

All performances should be from memory.

Recorded Round—Please make a video recording of an unedited performance of two contrasting jazz standards. They can be with piano, rhythm section, or a prerecorded play-along. You should play the melody and improvise over the changes for at least two choruses, then play the melody out. Each piece may be on a separate track. Cuts are not permitted. You may upload your track to YouTube (preferred) or Vimeo, or via Dropbox or Google Drive. Submit your links with your Symposium registration.

Final Round—If selected to play live in the final round at the Symposium, please bring music (both pieces from the recorded round) for the trio that will accompany you live.

Registration for master classes is by application due to limited space. Please submit an unedited Soundcloud or YouTube link (or similar) of the piece you plan to play or something comparable via the registration portal. In the notes to the Soundcloud or YouTube file, please include complete program information as you would like it printed, including piece title, composer and piece dates, movements as applicable, etc.

We are pleased to invite ALL students and community members to participate in the Symposium Saxophone Ensemble. Please register via the online registration form and select your instrument so that we may send you the appropriate music in advance.

Please contact TA Sarin Ritter-Raven at @email with any questions or concerns.

Happy practicing, and we look forward to meeting you and hearing you play!

Best,
Jonathan Hulting-Cohen and Felipe Salles, Symposium & Competition coordinators