Applications Open for the 2025 Klein International String Competition

Open to string players aged from 15 to 23, the competition offers a total prize pool of $30,000

Applications are now open for the 40th edition of the California Music Center’s Irving M. Klein International String Competition, which will take place on June 7-8, 2025, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. 

The competition is open to international violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists aged between 15 and 23, and who are not currently under professional management.

The first prize involves a $5,000 cash award and performance opportunities valued at $10,000, including a recital at the Gualala Arts Chamber Music Series, and concerto performances with the Santa Cruz Symphony and Peninsula Symphony.

Second place is endowed with $3,500 and a concerto performance with the San José Chamber Orchestra, third place is a $2,500 cash prize, and fourth place involves two $1,500 cash awards. 

Other awards include $1,000 for each semifinalist not awarded a named prize, $500 for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work, and a $500 Pablo Casals Prize for the best performance of solo Bach. 

To apply, click here. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST.

Applicants must provide a high-quality audio recording of themselves playing approximately thirty minutes of music, including five minutes of solo Bach, a concerto movement, and a 20th or 21st-century piece lasting around 10 minutes.

The Semifinal and Final rounds of the Klein Competition will be short recitals performed in a concert hall before the jury and a live audience.

The 2025 jury will comprise Barbara Day Turner, Eileen Moon, Glenn Dicterow, Hal Robinson, John Wineglass, Jory Fankuchen, and Karen Dreyfus. 

Past winners of the competition include violists Emad Zolfaghari and Yuchen Lu, cellist Gaeun Kim, and violinist Gabrielle Després.