CONCERTO FESTIVAL
Providing students the opportunity to take center stage and perform a solo with orchestra!
The Concerto Festival is Tacoma Music Collaborative’s (TMC) flagship event. Each spring, we bring together student musicians for a concert series featuring the finest pedagogical repertoire and full concerto movements. Each student rehearses and performs with an orchestra comprised of professional and collegiate musicians. The atmosphere is designed to support each student and ensure they have an excellent experience performing their work in front of family, colleagues, and community members in the audience.
Our annual festivals include over 50 student performers from Tacoma, Pierce County, and the broader Puget Sound region.
The 2027 Concerto Festivals are anticipated in March (string orchestra) and May (full orchestra). Registration will be announced on our website and in TMC emails, anticipated to begin in Fall 2026. Space is limited- early registration helps ensure you secure your spot to perform.
The 2026 Concerto Festival performances are Saturday May 23 (2:00 and 5:00pm) and Sunday May 24 (2:00pm) at the Schneebeck Concert Hall on the UPS campus.
Support the Festival
Volunteer
When you volunteer with TMC, you are directly supporting students and artists. Volunteers often are distributing programs, directing patrons, and more! This is an excellent option for high school and college students who need volunteer hours and want to help behind the desk.
Donate
A donation to our general fund allows TMC to put your dollars to work making noncompetitive performance an option for music students of all ages and skill levels here in the Puget Sound region. We are a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax deductible.
Sponsor
Become either a festival, season, or sustaining/lead sponsor and support opportunities for students. Each tier has a myriad of benefits, including advertisements in the program, logo placement, verbal recognition, and more!
Eligibility
You are eligible for the Concerto Festival if:
1) You are taking lessons in your instrument area (you have a teacher)
2) You are able to successfully perform a piece for soloist and ensemble either from our repertoire list or discussed with TMC prior to performance. (If you have questions about finding ensemble parts for a piece, please contact TMC for guidance.)
3) You are available to attend all scheduled rehearsals and performances
TMC prides itself on providing non-competitive performance opportunities for students of all ages, skills, and backgrounds.
About the Music
Each year, the repertoire list is updated with new works for various instruments, to ensure new opportunities. Students can also register for pieces that are not on the repertoire list. Due to rehearsal times, technical demands of certain works, or other factors, TMC reserves the right to deny a piece request if it is not feasible for performance. For pieces TMC cannot access freely, additional fees may be necessary for score rental or puchase.
2025 - TMC POLICIES
- For concerto repertoire, the soloist must perform memorized by the second rehearsal. All pieces with a single featured soloist need to be memorized. Pieces for two or more soloists may use music. Exceptions may be made, but are not guaranteed, for non-piano solo instruments with proof of preparation and selection of an advanced piece.
- Attendance at each rehearsal is mandatory. Failure to appear for rehearsal will disqualify a participant from performing in a concert.
- Students are expected to dress as professional performers: concert casual to formal is appropriate.
- Students must be available for three rehearsals to perform in a concert, and should arrive 10-15 minutes before their scheduled time for each rehearsal and the concert time. If they cannot commit to three rehearsals and a performance, students should not register.
- Repeats in pieces are allowed only if the timing of the piece does not exceed the listed time in the repertoire list.
- Teachers are encouraged to explore new repertoire and suggest pieces to be added to the TMC repertoire list to be provided for performance through TMC. Suggestions can made on this form.
- TMC connects with local orchestras and universities to access orchestra parts for many standard concerti. If a student wishes to perform a work whose orchestra parts are not locally available, it is the responsibility of the student and teacher to provide the orchestra parts and a conductor’s score. Some compositions are not in the public domain and require a rental agreement with the publisher. Students & teachers will be responsible for paying any publisher rental fees.
- In the event that registrations outnumber the available rehearsal time TMC can provide, TMC reserves the right to process registrations in the order they are received. TMC may close registrations early if this limit is reached before the posted deadline.
- Withdrawal from the festival may occur without penalty with full refund at any time prior to the finalization of the rehearsal schedule. This typically occurs 4-6 weeks before the festival dates, and varies festival-to-festival. After the schedule has been released, withdrawals may be accepted for a maximum 50% refund up to 2 weeks prior to the start of festival rehearsals. Withdrawals less than 2 weeks in advance of the start of festival rehearsals will receive no refund.
CURRENT TMC FEE SCHEDULE - as of 2024
Student fees help offset the cost of musicians scheduled to perform for that piece as well as conductor and venue costs. TMC works to coordinate schedules for dozens of students and orchestra musicians and create a comfortable experience that allows every student to perform at their best.
Works that are longer- and those that require a larger orchestra- have a higher fee. TMC does provide financial assistance whenever possible. Students should indicate their desire to be considered for financial aid when completing the registration form. Decisions on financial aid will be made as soon as possible once the registration period closes. For any questions on registration logistics or financial aid policies, please contact us: info (at) tacomamusic.org.
Table Key
No letter = Soloist with collaborative pianist
A = Soloist with string ensemble
B = Soloist, string ensemble, and up to 5 additional musicians (woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc.)
C = Soloist, string ensemble, and up to 10 additional musicians
D = Soloist, string ensemble, and more than 10 additional musicians
|
CATEGORY 1 – Less than five minutes
|
Fee |
|
1A – Soloist with string ensemble |
$117.00 |
|
1B – Soloist, strings, and up to 5 additional musicians |
$157.80 |
|
1C – Soloist, strings, and up to 10 additional musicians |
$198.30 |
|
1D – Soloist, strings, and more than 10 additional musicians |
$231.00 |
|
CATEGORY 2 – Five to ten minutes
|
Fee |
|
2A – Soloist with string ensemble |
$195.00 |
|
2B – Soloist, strings, and up to 5 additional musicians |
$263.00 |
|
2C – Soloist, strings, and up to 10 additional musicians |
$330.50 |
|
2D – Soloist, strings, and more than 10 additional musicians |
$385.00 |
|
CATEGORY 3 – Ten to fifteen minutes
|
Fee |
|
3A – Soloist with string ensemble |
$331.15 |
|
3B – Soloist, strings, and up to 5 additional musicians |
$447.10 |
|
3C – Soloist, strings, and up to 10 additional musicians |
$561.85 |
|
3D – Soloist, strings, and more than 10 additional musicians |
$654.50 |
|
CATEGORY 4 – Fifteen to twenty minutes
|
Fee |
|
4A – Soloist with string ensemble |
$448.50 |
|
4B – Soloist, strings, and up to 5 additional musicians |
$604.90 |
|
4C – Soloist, strings, and up to 10 additional musicians |
$760.15 |
|
4D – Soloist, strings, and more than 10 additional musicians |
$885.50 |