Stella Boyle Smith Young Artist Competition
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild annually presents the Stella Boyle Smith Trust Young Artist Competition, a statewide talent competition for young musicians between the ages of 12 and 18, performing music on piano, strings, woodwinds and brass.
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild awards the following cash prizes:
$1000
Grand Prize
$250
Qualified Winner in Each of the
Instrumental Categories
Application Deadline
March 20, 2026
Eligibility
Entrants must be residents of the state of Arkansas and be between the ages of 12 and 18. Entrants must not have reached their 19th birthday by April 13, 2026, and they must be in a Middle School, Junior, or High School program.
Preliminary Audition Procedure
All performance videos must be received no later than March 29, 2026. Please send performance videos to Arthur Broadbent III, Stella Boyle Smith Youth Competition co-chair, at competitionchair.sbsya@gmail.com
Videos of high-performance quality should be uploaded to a streaming platform such as YouTube or Vimeo, as well as a link sent to the email address above. Videos can be left "unlisted" for privacy. Please remember that the videos must be recorded with good lighting so that the judges can see your entire stance, the full instrument and both hands and for strings, the entire bow and bow hold.
Finals will be LIVE on April 25, 2026, at the Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, Little Rock.
Selections must be a movement of a composition for solo instrument and orchestra from the standard repertoire. Selections must be performed with a piano reduction of the orchestral score.
THE MUSIC MUST BE PERFORMED FROM MEMORY.
Contestants are required to provide their own pianist to perform orchestra reductions.
Mail the application and a non-refundable $30 check made payable to ASOG, postmarked or received by March 22, to:
Arthur Broadbent III
18203 Fawn Tree Dr.
Little Rock, AR 72210
Need more information?
Beth Robison, Director of Education and Community Engagement
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
brobison@arkansassymphony.org
