Applications Open for 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition

Applications to the competition held in August 2025 are now open and will close on March 1, 2025

Founded in 1983, the Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) is one of the world’s leading chamber music competitions and has been a platform for many ensembles to launch international careers.  

Held from August 25–31, 2025, the next competition is open to string quartets of all nationalities, whose members are under the age of 35 as of September 1, 2025. 

First prize laureates will receive a $25,000 CDN cash prize alongside a tailored three-year artistic and career development program. 

In addition to going on tour and making a professional recording, first prize laureates will also receive the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize of a paid residency worth $110,000 CAD, and residency opportunities at England’s Britten Pears Arts and the Esterházy Foundation, among more concert engagements in Europe and North America.

The second and third prize laureates will receive $12,000 CDN and $8,000 CDN, respectively; both will receive a creative residency at Banff Centre including coaching and mentorship opportunities. 

Special awards include the R.S. Williams & Sons Haydn Prize and the Canadian Commission World Premiere Prize — both valued at $4,000. All quartets not advancing to the finals will receive a Christine and David Anderson Prize of $5,000 CAD.

For more information and to apply, click here. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2025, 23:39 GMT.

Additionally, the competition’s Mentor in Residence will be Mark Steinberg, who is the first violinist and founding member of the Brentano Quartet and has performed with the group worldwide for 30 years.

The preliminary jury will comprise Ayane Kozasa, Guillaume Sutre, and Joshua Gindele. 

The 2025 competition jury will involve Eckart Runge, Marie Chilemme, Jonathan Crow, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Honggang Li, Eugene Drucker, and David Ying. 

“Many competitions exist for chamber music, but no competition is as prestigious for string quartets exclusively as Banff,” said Philip Setzer of the Emerson String Quartet. “The Banff Competition has certainly helped launch the careers of many deserving young string quartets.”