12 Music Competitions for Middle and High School Students

Competing pushes you to prepare at a level that everyday practice rarely does. You polish repertoire until it holds up under pressure, perform for judges who know your instrument inside out, and get feedback that shows you exactly where to grow. The best competitions also come with cash prizes, performances with professional orchestras, and a network of serious young musicians.

Below are 12 of the best music competitions for middle and high school students in the United States, covering every instrument, voice, chamber groups, jazz bands, and composition. We checked every competition against its official information in November 2026, so the ages, fees, and deadlines below are current. A few deadlines are only weeks away, so start with the table.

Music Competitions at a Glance

Competitions for Every Instrument and Voice

1. MTNA Student Competitions

The Music Teachers National Association runs one of the longest-established student competition systems in the country. You compete first at the state level, then at a division round, and the top performers advance to national finals, held April 2 to 6, 2027, in St. Louis.

The Junior level is for ages 11 to 14 (piano, strings, woodwinds, and composition), and the Senior level is for ages 15 to 18 (adding brass, piano duet, and voice). Senior performance entry is $125, or $150 for brass and voice, and you enter through a teacher who is an MTNA member. Piano, strings, and woodwind registration opens each August, while the 2026 to 2027 brass and voice video deadline is December 2, 2026.

Best if you want a structured path from state level to national recognition.

2. YoungArts National Arts Competition

YoungArts is the country's premier arts competition for teenagers, open to artists aged 15 to 18 or in grades 10 to 12. Music applicants can enter Classical Music (instrumentalists and composers), Jazz, or Voice, which includes classical, jazz, musical theater, and singer-songwriter categories.

Winners receive cash awards from $250 to $10,000, mentorship from leading artists, and the top winners attend National YoungArts Week in Miami. YoungArts winners are also the pool from which U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts are nominated. The 2027 cycle closed on October 6, 2026, so if you're in 9th grade or older now, plan to apply when the next cycle opens in summer 2027.

Best if you're a high schooler ready for national-level recognition across genres.

3. All-State Band, Orchestra and Choir

If you play in your school band or orchestra or sing in choir, All-State is likely the most important audition of your year. Most states start with district or regional auditions, and the top performers are selected for All-State ensembles that rehearse and perform together at a state music conference.

Requirements, fees, and dates vary by state, so ask your music director early in the school year, or search for your state's music educators association and "All-State."

Best if you're active in your school music program and want a respected statewide credential.

4. NATS National Student Auditions

The National Association of Teachers of Singing runs auditions where singers perform and receive written feedback from judges. You start at chapter or regional auditions in classical, musical theater, or commercial music categories set by your grade in school, and top singers advance to national rounds.

To enter, you must study with a voice teacher who is a current NATS member. National entry costs $75 per category, high school categories require three selections at the regional and national levels, and national prizes total more than $84,000.

Best if you're a singer who wants detailed feedback and a clear path to national awards.

Piano, String and Wind Competitions

5. Cliburn International Competition for Young Pianists

Run by the organization behind the famous Van Cliburn Young Pianists Competition, this edition for pianists aged 13 to 17 takes place June 10 to 19, 2027 in Dallas.

The Cliburn invites 38 pianists as Piano Fellows, selects 24 of them to compete, and six finalists each perform a concerto movement with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Applications are due November 17, 2026, with a $125 fee.

Best if you're an advanced pianist ready for an international stage.

6. Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition

Hosted by Oberlin College and Conservatory, the Cooper Competition alternates each year between violin and piano and is open to musicians aged 13 to 18 who have not yet enrolled in college. It offers a $40,000 prize pool, including a $20,000 first prize, and finalists perform a full concerto with an orchestra.

The 2026 edition was for violin, and the next competition, for piano, takes place in summer 2027.

Best if you're a pianist (in 2027) or violinist (in 2028) competing at an international level.

7. Stulberg International String Competition

Founded in 1975 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Stulberg is built for young string players: it is open to violinists, violists, cellists and bassists aged 19 or under as of January 1, 2027. A blind screening of video applications selects 12 semifinalists. Then six advance to the finals, and every semifinalist plays in a public master class with the judges.

The 2027 competition runs May 14 to 16 at Western Michigan University, and applications are due February 1, 2027. You can apply each year again until you age out.

Best if you're a high school string player who wants an international competition designed for your age group.

8. Irving M. Klein International String Competition

The Klein Competition, held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, is one of the most respected competitions for young violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists aged 15 to 23. It awards more than $30,000 in cash and performance prizes.

Applications for the June 5 to 7, 2027 competition are open now and close January 29, 2027. A limited number of fee waivers are available for families with a household income of $100,000 or less.

Best if you're an advanced high school string player ready to compete with college-level musicians.

9. National Flute Association High School Soloist Competition

The National Flute Association runs an annual competition for high school flutists. Judges choose eight finalists from recorded auditions of set repertoire, and the finalists compete live at the 2027 NFA Convention in Minneapolis for cash prizes of $1,000, $500, and $300. Younger flutists can enter the NFA's Junior Soloist Competition instead.

The entry fee is $65, and recorded-round deadlines have typically fallen in mid-March. Finalists' names are also shared with the team behind NPR's From the Top.

Best if you're a serious flutist who wants to perform for the national flute community.

Ensemble, Jazz and Composition Competitions

10. Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (Junior Division)

Fischoff is the largest and longest-running chamber music competition in the United States, held each May in South Bend, Indiana. Its Junior Division is for ensembles whose members are 18 or younger and in grade 12 or below, with separate string and wind categories, so trios, quartets, and quintets from the same school or youth orchestra can compete together.

Ensembles apply with a video recording, and entries are typically due in mid-February.

Best if you love chamber music and already play in a strong ensemble.

11. Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival

Run by Jazz at Lincoln Center, Essentially Ellington is the premier competition for high school jazz bands. Bands submit recordings of big band charts, and the top bands are invited to New York City each spring to perform, take part in workshops, and compete for top honors.

Joining the Essentially Ellington program is free and gives your band access to professional charts, and recordings for the competition are typically due in early January. If you compose or arrange, look for the program's student composition and arranging contest too.

Best if you play in your school jazz band and want to compete on a national stage.

12. ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards

The Morton Gould Young Composer Awards recognize concert music composers aged 13 to 29 and have been running since 1979. Past recipients include several Pulitzer Prize winners, and students under 18 are recognized every year.

There is no entry fee, and you submit one original concert work written within the past three years. The deadline typically falls in early February.

Best if you write your own music and want professional composers to judge your work.

Where Music Meets STEM

The skills that win music competitions carry straight into science. Preparing for a competition means setting a long-term goal, practicing deliberately, testing what works and performing under pressure, which is exactly how strong researchers approach an experiment and a science fair presentation.

Music itself is full of science: the physics of sound, the signal processing behind recording, the engineering of instruments, and the neuroscience of how we hear and feel music. If you love both, you can study questions like these through original research and compete with them at science fairs.

This combination can also strengthen your university applications. A national or state competition result is concrete evidence of years of discipline and achievement, and it gives admissions readers a clear sense of what you have committed to. When your music connects to your academic interests, such as a pianist researching how practice changes the brain or a composer building music software, your application tells one distinctive story.

To enrich your music knowledge, you can also look into summer music programs.

How to Choose and Prepare

Start with the competitions that match your age and level. If you're in middle school, MTNA's Junior level and NATS youth categories welcome younger musicians, and the Stulberg is open to string players of any age up to 19. If you're an advanced high schooler, aim for YoungArts, Cliburn, Cooper, or Klein. If you play in a group, Fischoff and Essentially Ellington let you compete with your ensemble.

Then work backward from deadlines. Most of these competitions begin with a recorded audition, so choose repertoire you know deeply, record well ahead of the deadline, and give yourself time for a second take. Some require a teacher's sponsorship or membership, as MTNA and NATS do, so talk to your teacher early in the school year. Finally, watch past winners' performances, which most competitions stream or post online, to understand the level you're aiming for.

Bring Your Competition Mindset to Research

If you already know how to prepare for a judged performance, you have a head start in science competitions too.

At ScienceFair, you work one-on-one with mentors who are past science fair winners to turn a question you care about, whether in acoustics, music technology, or how the brain processes sound, into original research you can take to competition.

Book a free consultation with an academic advisor to talk through your interests and where your research could go.