Applications Open for New York’s 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition

Open to international cellists aged 18 to 32, the competition will be held from October 15–20, 2024

Established in 1926 by banker and amateur cellist Walter Wehle Naumburg, the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation and its competitions support young classical musicians to launch their professional careers.

This year’s cello edition will award the first prize winner $25,000, two fully subsidized NYC recitals, and a commissioned work. Second prize is valued at $15,000, while third place is awarded with $10,000.

A completed application form for the cello edition and all required materials must be submitted by August 18, 2024. To apply, click here. 

The judges’ pre-screening will be held in mid-September, 2024. The preliminary round will be from October 15–17, 2024 at Klavierhaus; the semi-final round will take place on October 18 at Manhattan School of Music's (MSM) Greenfield Hall; and on October 20, the final round will be held at MSM's Neidorff-Karpati Hall. For more information, click here.

The foundation's competition cycles through various instruments every year. The editions have featured piano, saxophone, chamber music performance, voice, composition, violin, classical guitar, viola, clarinet, flute, and conducting.   

Previous winners have included VC Artist Tessa Lark, VC Artist Merz Trio, Louis Kaufman, Li-Wei Qin, Clancy Newman, Robert Mann, Berl Senofsky, Joseph Silverstein, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Leonidas Kavakos, Axel Strauss, and Frank Huang.