Applications Open for the 2024 Klein International String Competition

Open to string players aged between 15 and 23, the competition offers a total prize pool of $30,000

Applications are now open for the 39th edition of the California Music Center's Irving M. Klein International String Competition, which will take place on June 1 and 2, 2024 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The competition is for string players aged between 15 and 23 of any nationality, who are not currently receiving professional management.

Eight to nine semifinalists will be selected and will have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes and performance contracts totaling $30,000 in value. Applications must be received by February 3, 2024. Apply here.

In 2024, the jury will comprise cellist and Klein laureate Mark Kosower, principal cello of the Cleveland Orchestra and a scholar and teacher of cello; Daniel Stewart, Music Director of the Santa Cruz Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra; violinist Ian Swensen, Chair of Violin at San Francisco Conservatory’s String Department; Barbara Day Turner, Music Director of San José Chamber Orchestra; and this year’s commissioned composer John Wineglass. Additional jury members will be announced soon.

Applicants must provide a high-quality audio recording of themselves playing approximately thirty minutes of music, including five minutes of solo Bach, a substantial concerto movement, and a selection from the 20th/21st of approximately ten minutes in length.

The 2024 competition composer is John Wineglass, who is currently serving as Composer-In-Residence with the Monterey Symphony.

It was recently announced that after seven years as executive director, Marcy Straw will now serve as Interim Executive Director, providing finance and resource development support. Zoe Lin will step into the newly created role of Deputy Director, effective immediately.

Past winners of the competition include violists Emad Zolfaghari (pictured) and Yuchen Lu, cellist Gaeun Kim, and violinist Gabrielle Després.