Youth Opportunities

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 on March 15th, 2026 at George Mason University (Delaski Hall, Rm. 3001).

• Be available and be willing to commit, if selected, to a performance date of May 16, 2026 at 7:30pm at Oakton High School.

Please note that prior year award winners are ineligible for the current year’s competition.

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:

1. In print and readily available for retail purchase or rental, or 

2. Currently available in the City of Fairfax Band library, or 

3. Obtainable from the student’s school band library, or 

4. Otherwise provided by the student

Students may perform any work that meets the above criteria. Student questions regarding repertoire should be directed to the music director at: dereck.scott@fairfaxband.org

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.

To apply:

1. Prepare a good quality audio recording of your performance of the piece you are using as your submission, using any standard audio format such as .mp3, .wav, FLAC, etc.. Note this should be audio only as videos in the first application round will not be accepted. See notes and suggestions below on how to get the best recorded representation of your performance. Also note an accompanist on your recording is not required; however, should you be selected for the final round audition, you must provide your own accompanist for the live final round.

2. Complete the online application via this Google Form

You will need to upload your recording to the Google Form linked above AND a copy of the score/solo part for judging purposes.

1. The first round of the competition is by recording. Recordings are personally reviewed by the Music Director and finalists selected from the recorded submissions.

2. Finalists will be notified on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25th, and will be invited to participate in the final round by live performance.

3. Finals will be held the afternoon of Sunday, March 15th at 2:00pm at George Mason University’s Delaski Hall, Room 3001. 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 in anticipation of performing in the final round. Timing of the competition does not permit re-scheduling of finals or holding special auditions to accommodate individual conflicts with this date. The finals are presented in a recital format. The recital is free and open to the general public.

   • Selected finalists should expect to arrive at the venue 1 hour prior to the recital, so that each candidate may have time to acclimate to the room with their accompanist.

   • Each finalist will be assigned a “warm-up” time randomly.

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. The decision of the judges is final.

5. In the event no qualified applicants are identified, the City of Fairfax Band Association reserves the right to make a “no award” determination for any given year.

6. The competition winner receives a $2,000 cash award and will be featured in performance with the City of Fairfax Band. The performance is a requirement of receipt of the award. Applicants certify, by initial application, their availability for this performance.

• Submitting a good quality audio recording is important in the success of your application. The first round selection process is based solely on this recording, and it should represent your playing at the highest quality possible.

• Your submitted recording should be a “single take,” unedited recording.

• Use a quiet location with good natural acoustics. This may be your band room, worship center, an accessible recital hall or auditorium, etc. Small practice rooms are usually not a good choice. The key is that it is a room you naturally “sound good” in and free from extraneous noise.

• Consider hiring a professional engineer to record your submission for highest quality. 

• Cell phone recordings, while not ideal, are acceptable. If you decide to go this route, you will need to experiment with phone placement for the best possible recording quality. Remember, we will not accept videos, but it is possible, if easiest, to record a video and then use online tools to “strip” just the audio tracks off the video. (One of those places where “Google is  your friend,” if you don’t already know how to do this or have friends to help.)