Northwest Horn Symposium Competitions

The Northwest Horn Symposium will feature competitions for performers and composers.

2026 Performance Competitions

All Performance competition participants must be registered for the full symposium in order to participate. Competitors may compete in more than one category. Winners will be announced at the featured artist concerts of the symposium.

2026 Orchestral Horn Mock Audition
All excerpts can be found at: www.hornsociety.org/hornexcerpts-org

This excerpt list contains the types of excerpts you may find in a utility horn, regional orchestra, or sub-list audition. Both high and low-horn excerpts are present.

Age restriction:  None
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Excerpts:
  • R. Strauss, Til Eulenspiegel, horn 1, beginning to rehearsal 1.
  • L. v. Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, movement 3, horn 2, measures 171 to 202.
  • L. v. Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, movement 1, horn 1, measures ms. 84-101 and 423-end
  • J. Brahms, Academic Festival Overture, horn 3, ms. 143-188
  • D. Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, movement 1, horn 2, rehearsal 17 to first bar of 21.
  • P. Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, movement 1, horn 4, beginning to 6 after A.
  • J. Brahms, Symphony No. 1, ​movement 2, horn 1, rehearsal E to F.

2026 NwHS Solo Competition

The 2026 Northwest Horn Symposium will have two divisions, a high school division and a collegiate division.

The University Division and High School Division of the 2026 Solo Competition will happen at the same time and judged separately. Each competition will have one winner, and the winners of each competition will be invited to perform on the final concert of the symposium. 
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There is no set repertoire list - players are welcome to bring any piece that they feel represents their playing. Players may choose from the following four collaboration options: 

1. The competitor can bring their own collaborative pianist.

2. The competitor can request a collaborative pianist be provided through the Symposium organizer. (see registration form to select this option) 

3. The competitor can play without accompaniment. 

4. The player can bring an unaccompanied piece and therefore none of the above applies. 

In addition to the performance opportunities at the Symposium, the Interlochen Arts Academy has generously donated the following scholarships to the winner and runner up of the High School Solo Competition. See below for details! 
The Interlochen Arts Academy Scholarship: 
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1st prize - $10,000 merit scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy
2nd prize - $7,500 merit scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy
 
Fine print:
· Students currently in grades 8-11, including home-schooled students, are eligible to win this award. Students outside this age range may still win the competition, but are not eligible to receive the scholarship award. This merit scholarship offer is valid only for enrollment in Fall 2026 at the Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA) and is non-transferable and non-deferrable.
· Students currently enrolled at IAA are eligible to participate in and win the competition, but doing so will not affect their scholarship/financial-aid package.
· Winners will still need to complete an application to be accepted into IAA; more information can be found here: https://www.interlochen.org/academy-boarding-school/admission/how-to-apply. Should the horn studio be full at the time of acceptance, qualified students will be placed on a wait-list.
· Upon completion of the IAA application, students will be considered for financial aid in addition to their merit scholarship. Any financial aid award is in addition to the merit scholarship amount, and is based on parental income and financial need.
· This prize is a minimum award. Based on audition videos submitted at the time of application, exceptional applicants may be offered additional scholarship funding. However, merit scholarships are not "stackable." For example, if you have already applied for Fall 2026 and received a merit scholarship, the higher of the two scholarships is the final merit scholarship offer.
· Please contact Dr. Lauren Hunt at [email protected] with any questions.