The Young Artist Competition (YAC) is held annually to celebrate young talent in the Fredericksburg region. This juried competition for aspiring students of classical instruments, piano and voice provides them an opportunity to display their skill and be rewarded for it. Entrants will compete in one of three performance categories: Piano, Vocal, or Instrumental. There will be three overall winners who will be awarded a first prize of $1,000, a second prize of $500, and a third prize of $300. Winners are also invited to perform in a pre-concert program at our annual Chamber Music Festival, as well as future events sponsored by ArtsLIVE! The YAC Finals Concert welcomes the general public.
Download the 2026 YAC Application HERE
Due by December 19, 2025
Previous Winners || Previous Finalists
Eligibility:
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- All entrants must be capable of performing an orchestral solo.
- Students must be 18 years old or younger on the day of the Finals Competition and a resident of Planning District 16 (Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, Stafford, King George, and Caroline Counties).
- The entrant’s teacher shall confirm on the application that the entrant is at a suitable level to participate in the Competition.
- Previous first-place winners shall not be allowed to participate.
Literature:
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- Instrumental competition piece shall be a concerto or concert piece from standard repertoire.
- Vocal competition pieces shall be from the classic vocal repertoire including opera, musical theatre, and art songs.
- Piano competition piece may not be accompanied by another piano.
- Suitable repertoire is at Instrumental Grade 4 and above or is listed in the "National Federation of Music Clubs Festival Bulletin" at the Difficult through Musically Advanced level.
- The performance does not need to be memorized.
- Prior to auditions, compositions will be screened to ensure appropriate performance level. Non-qualifying entrants will be denied participation and their entry fee returned.
- One copy of the performance piece shall be submitted with the application indicating exactly what will be performed. Three (3) additional copies of that music shall be submitted prior to the Preliminary Audition performance.
- Students will perform the same composition at the Preliminary Audition and the Finals Competition.
Rules:
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- Entrants will compete in one of 3 performance categories: Piano, Vocal, or Instrumental.
- When the composition includes accompaniment, the student must provide an accompanist at both the Preliminary Audition and the Finals Concert.
- Appropriate attire is required at the Preliminary Audition (i.e., no tennis shoes, flip flops, short skirts, low necklines or blue jeans). At least semi-formal attire is required for the Finals Competition.
- ArtsLIVE! reserves the right to cancel the competition if there is not a sufficient number of qualified applicants.
Adjudication:
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- The Preliminary Audition will last approximately ten (10) minutes.
- Students will be judged on their musicianship, technical ability, and stage presence displayed at the Preliminary Auditions and Finals Competition performances.
- The jurors will provide written critiques of each contestant in the Preliminary Auditions. These will be emailed to each student prior to the Finals Competition.
Free Lance-Star Article: Students compete to be the best "Young Artists"
Previous Winners
2025: First Place Overall - Mayes Johns (Piano)
| 2020: | First Place Pianist—Christian Henriksen First Place Instrumentalist—Noelle Fiegl, violin Second Place Instrumentalist—Matthew Reffner, cello Third Place Instrumentalist—Sofie Lang, violin |
| 2019: | First Place Pianist—Abigail Henriksen First Place Instrumentalist—Abigail Leidy, cello First Place Instrumentalist—Corinna Sedelmayer, violin Second Place Instrumentalist—Noelle Fiegl, violin |
| 2018: | First Place Pianist—Landin Thorsted First Place Vocal—Jaden Brown, bass First Place Instrumentalist—Kelsey Payne, violin |
| 2017: | First Place Piano—Philip Lambert First Place Instrumental—Brianna Fiegl, violin Second Place Instrumental—Brendan Shirk, oboe Third Place Instrumental—Kelsey Payne, violin |
| 2016: | First Place Instrumentalist—Melissa Snell First Place Vocalist—Trevor White Second Place—Philip Lambert Third Place—Connor Skelly |
| 2015: | First Place Instrumentalist—Riana Chan First Place Vocalist—Sophie Horn Second Place—Philip Lambert Third Place—Brendan Shirk |
| 2014: | First Place Instrumentalist—Luke Payne, cello First Place Vocalist—Zoe Woodaman, soprano Second Place—Brendan Shirk, oboe Third Place—Andrew Liang, violin |
| 2013: | First Place Instrumentalist—Amy Wood, piano First Place Vocalist—Megan Walton, soprano Second Place—Luke Payne, cello Third Place—Analisa Wall, soprano |
| 2012: | First Place Instrumentalist—Andrew Liang, piano First Place Vocalist—Jamie Hauber, soprano Second Place—Chris Yang, piano Third Place—Luke Gray, violin |
| 2011: | First Place Instrumentalist—Mark Turner, piano First Place Vocalist—Cherie Wehle, soprano Second Place—Bethany Thompson, violin Third Place—Nicole Joshi, marimba |
| 2010: | First Place Instrumentalist—Jessica Stewart, flute First Place Vocalist—Hope Strayer, soprano Second Place—Nathan Black, cello Third Place—Andrew Liang, piano |
| 2009: | First Place—Ryan Feng, pianist Second Place—John Callahan, piano Third Place—Christian Aldridge, violin |
| 2008: | First Place—Chuhern Hwang, piano Second Place—Ryan Feng, piano Third Place—Christian Aldridge |
| 2007: | First Place—AnnaMarie Ignarro, clarinet Second Place—Dan Knowlton, marimba Third Place—Chuhern Hwang, piano |
| 2006: | First Place—Kana Zink, piano Second Place—Zachary Sanders, violin Third Place—Michael Konieczny, piano |
| 2005: | First Place—Ahmed-Mehdi Najm, flute Second Place—Thomas Carr, piano Third Place—Devon Newburn, piano |
| 2004: | First Place—Michael Konieczny, piano Second Place—Andrew McEvoy, guitar Third Place—Thomas Carr, piano |
Previous Finalists
