The European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) is a European umbrella organisation for about fifty national and international music competitions for young people. Founded in the 1960s in order to develop the musical education of young Europeans, EMCY arranges concerts (with and without orchestra), broadcasts, tours, award ceremonies, master classes and courses for outstanding competition prize winners throughout Europe.
Every year, thousands of musicians under the age of twenty-five take part in EMCY competitions, and its projects with the European Broadcasting Union reach audiences across Europe. EMCY is a registered association under German law with an elected international board of five representatives, headed since 2012 by chairman Paul Scholer. Its registered office is in Munich, Germany. In 2010 EMCY celebrated its 40th birthday at the General Assembly in Heerlen, Netherlands.
The EMCY Board is elected every four years at the General Assembly. Current members are:
Paul Scholer, Luxembourg (President)Mária Slaninová, Slovakia (Vice President for National Competitions)Justas Dvarionas, Lithuania (Vice President for International Competitions)Àngels Civit Fons, Spain (Board Member for National Competitions)Boris Svetiev, Macedonia (Board Member for International Competitions)The EMCY Office is hosted by Jugend musiziert, the German National Competition organised by the German Music Council in Munich, Germany. It is run by Sophie Duhnkrack, Secretary General of EMCY.
The EMCY General Assembly gathers, in general, every two years in a different European country at the invitation of an EMCY Member Competition. The last one was held in Luxembourg (Luxembourg) in 2014, hosted by the Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes (UGDA).
Recent General Assemblies have been held in:
2016 - Vilnius (Lithuania) National Lithuanian Balys Dvarionas Piano & String Competition, the International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and the International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)2014 - Luxembourg Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)2012 - Ohrid (Macedonia) International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls'2010 - Heerlen (Netherlands) International Charles Hennen Concours2008 – Kiev (Ukraine) International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz2006 – St Petersburg (Russia) Mravinsky International Competition for Youth2004 – Dubrovnik (Croatia) HDGPP (Croatian national competition)2002 – Altea (Spain) Juventudes Musicales de EspañaNational Competitions
Participation in these competitions is usually reserved for nationals or residents of the respective country. This often includes schools abroad, students at conservatoires or ex-patriates, however.
Österreichischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb prima la musica in Austriapodium.jazz.pop.rock... in AustriaHDGPP - Competitions of the United Music and Dance Teachers in CroatiaNational Radio Competition of the Czech Republic 'Concertino Praga' in the Czech RepublicOresund Soloist in Denmark / SwedenConcours d'excellence - Confédération Musicale de France in FranceJugend musiziert in GermanyNational Balys Dvarionas Piano and String Competition in LithuaniaConcours Luxembourgoise pour Jeunes Solistes (UGDA) in LuxembourgCompetition of the United Music and Dance Teacher of Macedonia in MacedoniaNetherlands Violin Competition in the NetherlandsUngdommens Musikkmesterskap (Norwegian Music Competition for Youth) in NorwayPrémio Jovens Músicos in PortugalEMCY Slovakia in SlovakiaTEMSIG - Slovenian Music Competition for Youth in SloveniaConcurso Permanente de Jóvenes Intérpretes de Juventudes Musicales de España in SpainSchweizerischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb (SJMW)b in SwitzerlandJazz, Rock&Pop SwitzerlandInternational Competitions
These competitions are open to participants from all over the world. Many include categories which change every year.
International Competition Young Virtuosos in Sofia, BulgariaInternational Radio Competition for Young Musicians 'Concertino Praga' in Prague, Czech RepublicSmetana International Piano Competition in Pilsen, Czech RepublicAarhus International Piano Competition in Aarhus, DenmarkInternational Competition of Young Pianists dedicated to the Work of F. Chopin in Narva, EstoniaAnna Amalia Competition for Young Guitarists in Weimar, GermanyEttlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Ettlingen, GermanyInternational Competition for Violin, Kloster Schöntal in Schöntal, GermanyInternational Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar, GermanyInternational Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists in Weimar, GermanyPianale International Academy and Competition in Schlitz, GermanyInternational Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists in Vilnius, LithuaniaInternational Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists in Vilnius, LithuaniaInternational Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls' in Ohrid, MacedoniaOrlando Competition, International String Quartet Competition Kerkrade and Heerlen, NetherlandsInternational Competition for Young Pianists Artur Rubinstein in memoriam in Bydgoszcz, PolandWitold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in Warsaw, PolandInternational Competition for Young Pianists 'A Step Towards Mastery' in St. Petersburg, RussiaInternational Television Contest for Young Musicians 'Nutcracker' in Moscow, RussiaMoscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition in Moscow, RussiaMravinsky International Competition for Youth in St. Petersburg, RussiaPeter Toperczer International Piano Competition Košice in Košice, SlovakiaSan Sebastián City International Piano Competition in San Sebastián, SpainInternational Competition for Young Pianists in memory of Vladimir Horowitz in Kiev, UkraineInternational Vladimir Krainev Young Pianists Competition in Kharkov, UkraineYehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists in the UKEMCY works to help as many prize winners as possible in their musical and personal development. Performance and training opportunities throughout Europe are arranged by EMCY, together with its member competitions and partners. These concerts, tours, workshops, and master classes are international meeting points for young musicians and are for many an important launch pad for their musical careers.
EMCY also holds conferences for competition organisers (most recently in Barcelona in 2009, St. Petersburg in 2011, in Ried im Innkreis and Welsin 2012 and in Bratislava in 2013) and music educators on particular themes to enable them to come together, learn from each other and develop new bi- and multilateral cooperation projects.
