Concerto Competition

The VPO offers a tri-annual concerto competition which provides an opportunity for aspiring musicians to gain experience performing with a full orchestra and to win cash prizes. The goal of this competition is to support BC’s local young musicians to further develop their artistic talents. Applicants must be enrolled full-time in a secondary or post-secondary institution. Finalists are selected through a competitive process by submitting an application and a recording of one select work of their choice.

Next Competition

Stay tuned for our 2023/24 season which will feature a performance by the 2022/23 competition winner, pianist Austin Ng!

The next concerto competition will take place in the 2025/26 season. Applications will be due in November 2025 with the competition held in February 2026. For future reference, the 2022/23 competition poster is included below. The application form can be viewed here.

Previous Competitions

Previous finalists were:

2022/23

• Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 – Austin Ng
• Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 – Norah Mix
• Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 – Claire Mindell
• Dvořák: Violin Concerto – Melissa Du
• Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 2 – Lily Jinglin Yuan
• Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 – Rachel Wei

2019/20

• Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Mvt. 1) – Augustin Wright 
• Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (Mvt. 3) – Ashley Jimin Kim 
• Shostakovich: Cello Concerto (Mvt. 4) – Aireleen Zhu
• Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Mvt. 1) – Mina McKenzie
• Michael Conway Baker: Harp Concerto (Mvt. 3: Siguirya) – Renee Qin 
• Doppler: Concerto for two flutes and orchestra – Gregor Gasovich-Varga & Una Rodaljevic

2016/17

• Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor (Mvt. 1 & 2) – Sarah Baek
• Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major K.488 (Mvt. 1) – Barry Tan
• Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Mvt. 3) – Ariel Ziqian Wang
• Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor (Mvt. 1) – Susan Xia
• Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Mvt. 1) – Sean Gao
• Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor (Mvt. 1) – Madeline Hocking

2013/14

• Liszt: Piano Concerto – Aydan Con
• Bottesini: Double Base Concerto (Mvt. 1) – Jesse Lu
• Sibelius: Violin Concerto (Mvt. 1) – Tomo Wakiyama Newton
• Elgar: Violin Concerto (Mvt. 1) – Doreen Dasol Yun
• Beethoven: Piano Concerto (Mvt. 1) – Keaton Ollech
• Liszt: Piano Concerto – Monica Han

2010/11

• Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme for cello, Op.33 – Diane Min Hye Yeo
• Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto No 3 in B minor, Op. 61 (Mvt. 3) – Henry Liao
• Chopin: Concerto no 2, in F minor, Op. 21 (Mvt. 1) – Emma Woo
• von Weber: Bassoon Concerto in F major, Op. 75 (Mvt. 1) – Sarah Ellis
• Rachmaninoff: Concerto no. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, (Mvt. 3) – Tami Lin
• Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, (Mvt. 1) – Esther J Hwang