WAMSO Young Artist Competition in January. (Competitions).

The 2003 WAMSO Young Artist Competition for Piano and Orchestral Instruments will take place January 11-12 in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Sponsored by WAMSO Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association in cooperation with the Minnesota Orchestra, the competition is designed to encourage and promote accomplished young artists in the region and provide opportunities for advanced study.

The Grand Award winner receives $1,000 from the Minnesota Orchestra Association in honor of Isaac Stern for his dedication to young artists, in addition to a performance with the Minnesota Orchestra. The First Prize WAMSO Young Artist Award winner receives $3,000, with the second and third prizes worth $2,500 and $1,000, respectively. Other prizes include the $2,250 WAMSO Achievement Award, the Ehrma Strachauer Award, the Mathilda Heck Award, the Twin Cities Musicians Union AFM Award and others.

The competition is open to contestants who are performers of instruments that have permanent chairs in the Minnesota Orchestra and are legal residents or students in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, or Manitoba or Ontario, Canada. Contestants must not have reached their twenty-sixth birthday as of January 12, 2003.

To request a copy of the repertoire requirements or an application packet, contact WAMSO Young Artist Competition, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55403-2477; [phone]; fax: [phone]; [e-mail]; www.wamso.org. Application forms for U.S. entrants must be postmarked before September 23, 2002. The international deadline is September 13, 2002. Forms can be downloaded from the WAMSO website.