MacPhail Concerto & Aria
The MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert is our premier performance opportunity for students. MacPhail students of all instruments and ages are eligible to perform before a panel of judges in two rounds of auditions with a movement from a concerto or an aria from an opera.
Six students will be selected to perform live on stage with a chamber-sized orchestra comprised of professional musicians – both MacPhail faculty members and guest musicians – in Antonello Hall. We are pleased to welcome Chi-Chi Bestmann, MacPhail teaching artist and former conductor of The Third Street Music Settlement Philharmonia Orchestra in New York as the guest conductor for this event.
MacPhail has a partnership with the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis, where a MacPhail student performs with their full-sized civic orchestra in two performances.
Interested in performing? Download the application on our student performances page!
2021 Concerto & Aria Concert
Please note: performers requesting the services of a MacPhail staff accompanist should e-mail Jon Iverson, Student Performance Coordinator, at iverson.jon@macphail.org. More information is below. Information regarding the application process will be available in January 2021.
MacPhail will be holding the Concerto and Aria Concert auditions and performance this spring. Due of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, some changes will be made for this year’s audition calendar and the concert itself. Rather than having a full chamber orchestra, performers have two options for accompaniment: they can request a double string quartet as the accompaniment or piano accompaniment.
- Double string quartet accompaniment is available for select music from the Baroque and Classical Repertoire. Attached is a partial list of concerti for which MacPhail already has the double string quartet accompaniment. If you have questions about any other eligible repertoire, please contact Jon Iverson, Student Performance Coordinator, at iverson.jon@macphail.org.
- Piano accompaniment – Repertoire that is not adaptable into a double quartet format will be performed with piano accompaniment.
Performers selected in the final auditions will be video recorded in Antonello Hall and will be featured as a streamed internet broadcast in May 2021. A limited audience viewing the recording will be considered if COVID conditions at the time of the performance allow for it.
All auditions and final performances must not exceed 15 minutes in length. A total of six performers will be selected for the final concert.
Auditions for the Concerto & Aria Concert will take place as follows:
- Preliminary round (pre-recorded video submission): Sunday, February 28, 2021 by 11:59pm
- Final round (live in-person auditions): Sunday, March 14, 2021 starting at 12:30pm
All social distancing precautions will be observed: performers, judges and staff will be required to wear masks (including vocalists) for the auditions. Per previous years, the finals will be closed to the public.
- Double quartet rehearsal (if applicable): mid-April 2021 (final dates TBD)
- Recording session: mid-April 2021 (dates TBA)
- Streamed broadcast: Friday, May 14, 2021 at 7:00pm
Performers requesting a MacPhail staff accompanist will need to contact Jon Iverson at iverson.jon@macphail.org before January 1, 2021.
If you have any questions about this year’s MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert, please e-mail Jon Iverson, Student Performance Coordinator, at iverson.jon@macphail.org.