The City of Fairfax Band announces its annual Young Artists Competition for the 2007-2008 season. Following are the rules and eligibility requirements. Please read carefully and comply with instructions to ensure eligibility.

Eligibility:

The competition is open to Northern Virginia residents in their junior or senior year of high school. Students must:

• be active with their high school band or orchestra program or home-schooled students who are active and regular participants in a community or youth performing ensemble
• play a standard band woodwind, brass or percussion instrument
• have a prepared selection which is readily available in a band accompaniment form (see below)
• be available and be willing to commit, if selected as a finalist, to the competition auditions at 7:00 pm, on Sunday, March 2, 2008
• be available and be willing to commit, if selected, to a performance date of Sunday, May 4, 2008

Prior years award winners are ineligible for the current year's competition.

Literature:

The literature performed must be representative of the student's ability on his or her instrument and must be available in a band accompaniment form. "Available" is defined as:

• in print and readily available for retail purchase or rental, or
• currently available in the City of Fairfax Band library, or
• obtainable from the student's school band library, or
• otherwise provided by the student

Student inquiries as to the availability of the arrangement in the City of Fairfax Band's library should be directed to the band office at (703) 757-0220. Otherwise, the student must have his or her band director or private teacher certify the existence and availability of the accompaniment. Failure to certify such availability will result in disqualification.

Please note: existence of the accompaniment in a U.S. military band arrangement is NOT acceptable, unless the student obtains prior clearance from the military band to obtain the arrangement. Under current law, the City of Fairfax Band is not able to secure permission from the government for "special" military band arrangements.

Rules and Application:

To apply, send:

1. A completed application signed and certified by the student's parent or guardian and band or orchestra director.
2. A good quality unedited cassette tape recording or CD recording of the student performing the proposed work. (Accompaniment is preferred, but not required, for this recording.)

All applications should be postmarked no later than January 31, 2008. Please note: submissions via the Internet will not be accepted.

Judging and Award:

1. The first round of the competition is by recording. Recordings are personally reviewed by the Music Director and finalists are selected from the recorded submissions.
2. Finalists will be notified during the second week of February and invited to participate in the final round by live performance.
3. Finals will be held the evening of Sunday, March 2, 2008, at Old Town Hall, 3999 University Drive, Fairfax, VA. An accompanist is required for the final round. Due to the short time between notification of finalist status and the date of the finals, applicants are advised to have the date clear and an accompanist lined up well in advance of performing the final round. Timing of the competition does not permit rescheduling of finals or holding special auditions to accommodate individual conflicts with this date. The finals are presented in an open recital format, open to the general public.
4. A panel of judges is selected from within the membership of the organization. The judges evaluate all finalists in the live performance round and confer to select the competition winner. The winner is announced the evening of the competition in a post-performance reception. All judge’s decisions are final.
5. The competition winner receives a $2,000 scholarship award and will be featured in performance with the City of Fairfax Band on Sunday, May 4, 2008. The performance is a requirement of receipt of the scholarship. Applicants certify, by initial application, their availability for this performance.
6. The City of Fairfax Band does not limit the use of the scholarship to college expenses. Rather, the scholarship can be used for advanced private study; summer institute tuition (Interlochen, Tanglewood, etc.); instrument purchase; and other uses as approved by the City of Fairfax Band's Board of Directors. The scholarship is made payable in one lump sum to the specified institution.