European Union of Music Competitions for Youth
The European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) is a European umbrella organisation for about fifty national and international music competitions for young people. Founded in the 1960s in order to develop the musical education of young Europeans, EMCY arranges concerts (with and without orchestra), broadcasts, tours, award ceremonies, master classes and courses for outstanding competition prize winners throughout Europe.
Every year, thousands of musicians under the age of twenty-five take part in EMCY competitions, and its projects with the European Broadcasting Union reach audiences across Europe. EMCY is a registered association under German law with an elected international board of five representatives, headed since 2012 by chairman Paul Scholer. Its registered office is in Munich, Germany. In 2010 EMCY celebrated its 40th birthday at the General Assembly in Heerlen, Netherlands.
EMCY Board
The EMCY Board is elected every four years at the General Assembly. Current members are:
- Paul Scholer, Luxembourg (President)
- Mária Slaninová, Slovakia (Vice President for National Competitions)
- Justas Dvarionas, Lithuania (Vice President for International Competitions)
- Àngels Civit Fons, Spain (Board Member for National Competitions)
- Boris Svetiev, Macedonia (Board Member for International Competitions)
EMCY Office
The EMCY Office is hosted by Jugend musiziert, the German National Competition organised by the German Music Council in Munich, Germany. It is run by Sophie Duhnkrack, Secretary General of EMCY.
General Assembly
The EMCY General Assembly gathers, in general, every two years in a different European country at the invitation of an EMCY Member Competition. The last one was held in Luxembourg (Luxembourg) in 2014, hosted by the Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes (UGDA).
Recent General Assemblies have been held in:
- 2016 - Vilnius (Lithuania) National Lithuanian Balys Dvarionas Piano & String Competition, the International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and the International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
- 2014 - Luxembourg Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
- 2012 - Ohrid (Macedonia) International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls'
- 2010 - Heerlen (Netherlands) International Charles Hennen Concours
- 2008 – Kiev (Ukraine) International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz
- 2006 – St Petersburg (Russia) Mravinsky International Competition for Youth
- 2004 – Dubrovnik (Croatia) HDGPP (Croatian national competition)
- 2002 – Altea (Spain) Juventudes Musicales de España
Member competitions
National Competitions
Participation in these competitions is usually reserved for nationals or residents of the respective country. This often includes schools abroad, students at conservatoires or ex-patriates, however.
- Österreichischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb prima la musica in Austria
- podium.jazz.pop.rock... in Austria
- HDGPP - Competitions of the United Music and Dance Teachers in Croatia
- National Radio Competition of the Czech Republic 'Concertino Praga' in the Czech Republic
- Oresund Soloist in Denmark / Sweden
- Concours d'excellence - Confédération Musicale de France in France
- Jugend musiziert in Germany
- National Balys Dvarionas Piano and String Competition in Lithuania
- Concours Luxembourgoise pour Jeunes Solistes (UGDA) in Luxembourg
- Competition of the United Music and Dance Teacher of Macedonia in Macedonia
- Netherlands Violin Competition in the Netherlands
- Ungdommens Musikkmesterskap (Norwegian Music Competition for Youth) in Norway
- Prémio Jovens Músicos in Portugal
- EMCY Slovakia in Slovakia
- TEMSIG - Slovenian Music Competition for Youth in Slovenia
- Concurso Permanente de Jóvenes Intérpretes de Juventudes Musicales de España in Spain
- Schweizerischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb (SJMW)b in Switzerland
- Jazz, Rock&Pop Switzerland
International Competitions
These competitions are open to participants from all over the world. Many include categories which change every year.
- International Competition Young Virtuosos in Sofia, Bulgaria
- International Radio Competition for Young Musicians 'Concertino Praga' in Prague, Czech Republic
- Smetana International Piano Competition in Pilsen, Czech Republic
- Aarhus International Piano Competition in Aarhus, Denmark
- International Competition of Young Pianists dedicated to the Work of F. Chopin in Narva, Estonia
- Anna Amalia Competition for Young Guitarists in Weimar, Germany
- Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Ettlingen, Germany
- International Competition for Violin, Kloster Schöntal in Schöntal, Germany
- International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar, Germany
- International Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists in Weimar, Germany
- Pianale International Academy and Competition in Schlitz, Germany
- International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists in Vilnius, Lithuania
- International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists in Vilnius, Lithuania
- International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls' in Ohrid, Macedonia
- Orlando Competition, International String Quartet Competition Kerkrade and Heerlen, Netherlands
- International Competition for Young Pianists Artur Rubinstein in memoriam in Bydgoszcz, Poland
- Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in Warsaw, Poland
- International Competition for Young Pianists 'A Step Towards Mastery' in St. Petersburg, Russia
- International Television Contest for Young Musicians 'Nutcracker' in Moscow, Russia
- Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition in Moscow, Russia
- Mravinsky International Competition for Youth in St. Petersburg, Russia
- Peter Toperczer International Piano Competition Košice in Košice, Slovakia
- San Sebastián City International Piano Competition in San Sebastián, Spain
- International Competition for Young Pianists in memory of Vladimir Horowitz in Kiev, Ukraine
- International Vladimir Krainev Young Pianists Competition in Kharkov, Ukraine
- Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists in the UK
Projects
EMCY works to help as many prize winners as possible in their musical and personal development. Performance and training opportunities throughout Europe are arranged by EMCY, together with its member competitions and partners. These concerts, tours, workshops, and master classes are international meeting points for young musicians and are for many an important launch pad for their musical careers.
EMCY also holds conferences for competition organisers (most recently in Barcelona in 2009, St. Petersburg in 2011, in Ried im Innkreis and Welsin 2012 and in Bratislava in 2013) and music educators on particular themes to enable them to come together, learn from each other and develop new bi- and multilateral cooperation projects.
See also
- List of classical music competitions
- World Federation of International Music Competitions
- International Music Council, IMC