Cecil Aronowitz Viola Competition

 Violists everywhere are invited to enter the second Cecil Aronowitz Viola Competition, taking place between 18 to 24 November 2017 in the new Royal Birmingham Conservatoire building.

Organised by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University and the British Viola Society, the winner will be awarded £5,000 along with a recording contract and a prize in collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Dedicated to Cecil Aronowitz (pictured), the South African violist and long-term collaborator with Benjamin Britten, the competition is open to applications from violists from anywhere in the world, at the age of 21 or under at the time of the competition.

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Prizes

1st Prize: The overall winner will be awarded

• A prize of £5,000
• Champs Hill Records Prize Recording contract
• City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra prize

2nd Prize

• Lionel Tertis Prize - £3,000

3rd Prize

• Gwyn Williams Trust Fund Prize - £1,000

Other Prizes include:

• Paul Ayres Prize: For the most promising competitor 18 years and under: A silver mounted Brazilian pernambuco viola bow by Jackson Fornaciari worth £950.
• Bishop Instruments and Bows Ltd Prize – For the most outstanding performance of a sonata in Round 3: A silver mounted viola bow by Pierre Guillaume worth £5000.
• Fuller Music Prize: For the best performance of Kreisler pieces in Round 2 - £250.
• Noel Burke and Neil Ertz Memorial Prize: For the best performance of Bach in round 2 - £400.
• PartPlay: One months free unlimited subscription to everyone attending the CAIVC and a full unlimited annual subscription for every semi-finalist.
• ESTA: Free annual membership to the those in the Final Round of the competition. Discounted membership to everyone attending the CAIVC.
• Thomastik: Each of the twenty-nine semi-finalists will be awarded a set of Infeld Pi200 strings, which retail at £130.00 retail per set.

Rules

1. All competitors must be age 21 or under at the time of the competition.
2. All competitors must be members of the British Viola Society. You can join here.
3. Competitors of all nationalities are encouraged to apply.

To enter, please read the application guidelines first

Sponsors

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition and Festival would like to thank the following organisations for their support.