Thank you for your interest in the Miroslav Pansky Memorial Concerto Competition presented by the Civic Symphony of Green Bay. The competition is open to high school and college students in Northeast Wisconsin. Vocal and instrumental soloists are encouraged to apply.
Note to teachers/applicants: for your planning and preparation purposes, the student concerto competition is held every other year (odd-numbered years). Applications will be accepted during the month of September in the year of the competition. All applications are due by September 30. The competition will be judged tentatively on the third Saturday in October. First-place winners will perform with the Civic Symphony of Green Bay at our concert the following February.
2023-24 Dates
- 9/1/2023 online application opens
- 9/30/2023 application deadline
- 10/2/2023 audition times assigned, instructions sent to applicants
- 10/21/2023 competition at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
- 2/1/2024 & 2/8/2024 evening rehearsals at Ashwaubenon High School (specific dates/times to be arranged with winners)
- 2/15/2024 dress rehearsal in the Walter Theatre at St. Norbert College
- 2/16/2024 morning & evening performances in the Walter Theatre at St. Norbert College
Stay tuned for information about our 2025 competition!
Repertoire
All selections must come from the standard repertoire and must be no longer than 10 minutes in duration. If in doubt regarding difficulty/availability of orchestral parts for your selection, please contact the education committee at education@gbcivic.org before you begin preparing for your audition.
- Instrumental: concerto movement or concert piece from the standard repertoire with published orchestral accompaniment
- Vocal: aria or comparable selection from an opera or oratorio in the standard repertoire with published orchestral accompaniment
Awards
- First place in each age group (high school and college divisions): $500 cash award, performance with the Civic Symphony of Green Bay
- Second place in each age group (high school and college divisions): $250 cash award
Entry Fee
Please pay the nonrefundable $45 entry fee when submitting your application. You may pay with a credit/debit card or PayPal.
Rules
- The competition is open to Northeast Wisconsin students through age 22 at the time of the competition.
- Selection must come from the standard repertoire. If in doubt regarding difficulty/availability of orchestral parts for your selection, please contact the education committee at education@gbcivic.org before you begin preparing for your audition.
- Selection must be no longer than 10 minutes in duration. Appropriate cuts should be made if needed and noted on the score.
- Each contestant must bring four (4) copies of the selection (with measures numbered and cuts/changes marked) for the use of judges.
- Each contestant must have a piano accompanist for the competition. No contestant will be allowed to perform without an accompanist.
- Applications and the entry fee must be received no later than September 30, 2023.
- Audition periods of approximately 12 minutes will be scheduled on the audition day (October 21, 2023). Please note on your application if you have a specific time conflict and we will do our best to accommodate you. Once scheduled, your audition time cannot be changed.
- Questions can be directed to 920-432-4676 or education@gbcivic.org.
Online Application
The application deadline for our 2023 competition was September 30, 2023 and online applications are no longer being accepted. The application for our next competition will open in September 2025.
History
The Miroslav Pansky Memorial Concerto Competition was established in 2007 and continues as an enduring tribute to an artist who profoundly influenced the cultural life of our community.
Maestro Pansky, born in 1933 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, graduated from the Prague Conservatory of Music with honors in violin, conducting and composition. After successfully launching a conducting career and completing a period of opera study in Monte Carlo, he emigrated to the United States in 1968. Soon afterward he was appointed music director of the Los Angeles Congress of Strings. Pansky came to Green Bay in 1972 as artistic director and conductor of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, a long-established community ensemble. He held the post for 23 years, bringing the orchestra to an enviable level of performance.
During his tenure, Pansky also fulfilled engagements with orchestras and opera companies far from Green Bay. They included appearances as guest conductor of symphony orchestras in Milan, Sorrento and Taormina, Italy, in Athens, and in Seoul, Korea. Guest conductor commitments closer to home took him to New York, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and Winnipeg, Canada.
In 1985 Pansky founded the Pamiro Opera. Over 20 years under his direction, Pamiro mounted some 30 operas, providing young professionals from across the country the opportunity to perform in fully staged productions with musicians from the area.
Soon after coming to Green Bay, Pansky also organized and directed an orchestra program for school-age musicians: a youth symphony, a junior youth symphony, and a string orchestra. In weekly rehearsals and regular concerts over many years, he savored the joy of nurturing talent and of engaging the energy and enthusiasm of youth. Under his guidance, scores of young musicians were inspired to persist in the path to outstanding achievement.
In the same spirit, the competition is held every two years as an integral part of the Civic Symphony’s educational mission. The first auditions were held in October 2008, and the two first-place winners performed as soloists with the orchestra in February 2009. Read more about our past winners.
Spread the Word
Help us spread the word about the competition. Download and print the Miroslav Pansky Memorial Competition Poster to hang up at your school or share with a musician who may be interested.
Download Poster