High School Chamber Music Competition

Announcing the 2024 Rembrandt Chamber Musicians High School Chamber Music Competition:

Founded in 1995, the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians Annual High School Chamber Music Competition is widely regarded as one of the premier competitions of its kind in the Midwest, drawing participants from the Music Institute of Chicago, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Midwest Young Artists, Merit School of Music, and a variety of public and private schools. Competition winners have gone on to prestigious careers in music with some holding positions in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras as well as the New York Philharmonic.

In addition to the prestige of being named Rembrandt Young Artists, winning ensembles will receive cash prizes, master class instruction from Rembrandt musicians, and performance opportunities throughout the region. Competition winners will also participate in the RYA Outreach Program, bringing interactive educational sessions to Chicago-area schools through an exciting multidisciplinary collaborative program. Click here to learn more and watch a brief video about our recent partnership with the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School.

Expansion

In 2007, the Rembrandt Young Artists designation was established, enabling competition winners and honorable mentions to represent Rembrandt by performing in various settings for the entire year. Rembrandt also enhanced and expanded its competition in four ways:

• Created a free listening and educational experience by opening the competition to the public and informing the audience of the judges’ criteria for rating student performances.
• Designed a competition within the competition, rewarding the ensemble that attracted the most audience attendees.
• Sought outreach performance opportunities for the talented young musicians to bring chamber music to community venues such as schools, senior centers, libraries, synagogues, and churches.
• Took first steps to create an alumni group of former winners to inspire and mentor today’s talented high school chamber musicians.

Recognition of Past Winners

Recent winners will attend this year’s competition to present awards and share experiences as RYA protégées. Past RYA winners have won other important competitions and many have outstanding careers with prestigious orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony.