2025–2026 Chamber Music Performance Competitions
National Coordinator:
Registration is CLOSED!
***ATTENTION***NEW THIS YEAR!—For every category, entrants can only enter 10 minutes over the maximum time allowed at the National Round. SEE REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS BELOW FOR TIMES!
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Registration Procedure
- Entry Fee: $160 for each ensemble (includes $25 Acceptd fee). Registrations and all fees will be submitted on the Acceptd site and will be available Wednesday, November 1, 2025.
- Video deadline: Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. There will be no exceptions.
- Read Video Guidelines
- Ensemble must submit a GROUP photo and a GROUP bio (75-word maximum) at the time of registration.
Entrant Eligibility
- The age of each ensemble member must be 18–29 on January 1, 2026.
- An ensemble member may enter in more than one ensemble.
- An ensemble member may enter the Chamber Music and the solo performance competitions.
Competition Categories
String
(majority of instruments are string)
Award made possible by the Allen I. McHose Scholarship Fund
- National Winning Ensemble: $3,000
- National Second Place Ensemble: $2,000
- National Third Place Ensemble: $1,000
Wind
(majority of instruments are wind)
Awards made possible by the Allen I. McHose Scholarship Fund
- National Winning Ensemble: $3,000
- National Second Place Ensemble: $2,000
- National Third Place Ensemble: $1,000
NOTE: Piano will be considered a string instrument.
National Awards
- To receive a monetary award, national performance competition winners are required to perform on the Winners Concert, which takes place from 3:30–5:30 p.m. on the day following the competition at the MTNA National Conference, March 21–25, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
Ensemble Requirements
- The ensemble must consist of at least three (3) performers and may have no more than six (6) performers.
- During the course of a performance, the "core" ensemble (trio, quartet, quintet, sextet) so named on the competition registration may temporarily change in size through the addition or subtraction of personnel, but the named core ensemble must perform in the majority of the submitted competition repertoire. (For example, a woodwind quintet might add a piano and become a sextet, a string quartet might be reduced to a string trio, a trio might add a performer and become a quartet, or voice might be added to the ensemble.)
- Ensembles may be any combination of the following instruments: Brass (Trumpet, Horn, Euphonium, Trombone, Tuba), Piano, String (Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass) Voice (maximum of two vocalists in an ensemble with instruments) and Woodwind (Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Saxophone). Ensembles with piano only and voice only are not permitted.
- No changes in ensemble personnel may be made following submission of the registration.
- The performance is without conductor.
Guidelines
- Decisions of competition judges are final.
- A national first-place MTNA Chamber Music ensemble may not enter again with the same personnel.
- Facilities permitting, competition performances (including Winners Concert) are open to the public. Competition rehearsals are closed to the public.
- Audio or video recording and photography of the competitions and winners concerts are strongly discouraged.
- It is the responsibility of the entrant to be available for the Final Round at the national conference.
- The assigned rehearsal and performance times are final and cannot be changed.
Repertoire Requirements
- Ensembles are not required to program music from two different style periods of music.
- Transcriptions are allowed only in ensemble repertoire without voice.
- Questions concerning repertoire should be directed to the National Chamber Music Coordinator prior to submission of registration.
- Individual movements of suites, sonatas or other groupings that can be performed as musical units are permitted.
- Cuts in the music are not permitted.
- Repeats are left to the discretion of the ensemble.
- No changes in repertoire are allowed following submission of the registration. Repertoire must remain the same for both levels of the competition (Preliminary Round and National round).
- All repertoire submitted with the registration must be prepared for both levels of the competition (Preliminary Round and national round).
- Programs may be over or under the performance time limit. Programs over the time limit at any level of the competition will be cut at the judges’ discretion. For every category, entrants can only enter 10 minutes over the maximum time allowed at the National Round.—NEW THIS YEAR!
- Repertoire must be chosen from works exhibiting equality among the individual ensemble players. Concerti with orchestral reductions or sonatas for soloist and continuo are not permitted.
- Repertoire with voice must be chosen from the following list:
| Dominic Argento | To Be Sung Upon the Water for Soprano/Tenor, Clarinet and Piano |
| Seymour Barab | Bits and Pieces for Soprano, Clarinet and Piano |
| Samuel Barber | Dover Beach, Op. 3, for Baritone and String Quartet |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | Twenty-five Scottish Songs, Op. 108, for Voices and Piano Trio |
| Henry Bishop | Lo! Here the Gentle, Lark for Soprano, Flute, and Piano |
| William Bolcom | Let Evening Come for Soprano, Viola, and Piano |
| Johannes Brahms | Two Songs for Voice, Viola, and Piano, Op. 91 |
| Emmanuel Chabrier | L’Invitation au Voyage for Voice, Bassoon, and Piano |
| Ernest Chausson | Chanson Perpetuelle for Voice and Piano Quintet, Op. 37 |
| Arnold Cooke | Nocturnes for Soprano, Horn, and Piano |
| Aaron Copland | As it Fell Upon a Day for Voice, Flute, and Clarinet |
| Johann Kalliwoda | Heimathlied, Op. 117, for Soprano, Clarinet, and Piano |
| Conrad Kreutzer | Das Mühlrad for Soprano, Horn, and Piano |
| Charles Loeffler | Four Poèms, Op. 5, for Voice, Viola, and Piano |
| Giacomo Meyerbeer | Hirtenlied for Tenor/Soprano, Clarinet and Piano |
| Alexander Raskatov | Five Fragments by Samuel Taylor Coleridge for Voice and String Trio |
| Maurice Ravel | Chansons madécasses for Voice, Flute, Cello, and Piano |
| Maurice Ravel | La flûte enchantée for Voice, Flute, and Piano |
| Ned Rorem | Last Poems of Wallace Stevens for Soprano, Cello, and Piano |
| Camille Saint-Saëns | Une flûte invisible for Voice, Flute, and Piano |
| Camille Saint-Saëns | Violons dans le soir for Voice, Violin, and Piano |
| Franz Schubert | Auf dem Strom for Voice, Horn, and Piano, Op. 119 (D. 943) |
| Franz Schubert | Der Hirt auf dem Felsen for Voice, Clarinet, and Piano, Op. 129 (D. 965) |
| Louis Spohr | Six German Songs for Voice, Clarinet, and Piano, Op. 103 |
| Igor Stravinsky | Berceuse du chat, for Voice and Three Clarinets |
| Lester Trimble | Four Fragments from Canterbury Tales for Voice, Flute, Clarinet and Piano |
| Ralph Vaughn Williams | On Wenlock Edge, for Tenor, String Quartet, and Piano |
Competition Music
- For the Final Round at the national conference, each ensemble must provide the judge(s) one score or one complete set of parts for each work listed on the registration. Miniature scores are strongly discouraged. Scores are not required for preliminary video round.
- Preliminary Round and Final Round at the National Competitions:
- Maximum performance time: forty (40) minutes
Competition Performance Procedures
- No minimum time limit.
- Programmed music may exceed maximum time limit.
- For every category, entrants can enter only 10 minutes over the maximum time allowed in the Final Round.—NEW THIS YEAR!
- In the Final Round, the performance will be stopped when maximum time is reached.
- In the Final Round, the entrant chooses first selection; judges determine remaining order of performance.
- In the Final Round, a portion of all repertoire submitted on the registration will be heard.
Competition Agreement
- All ensemble members and teacher/coach have read, understand and agree to the Guidelines for the 2025–2026 MTNA Competitions. Failure to abide by these rules and regulations will make the ensemble ineligible to receive recognition or awards.
- Credit card holder has authorized use to complete the registration.
- All entry fees are non-refundable.
- Ensemble will abide by all copyright laws and has permission to use all music given to judges during the competitions as outlined here.
- MTNA is not responsible for problems with internet services or phones.