The Palo Alto Philharmonic is holding a concerto movement competition for elementary, middle and high school instrumental and vocal soloists.

Students who have not graduated from high school as of Dec. 31, 2005, and who wish to compete must submit a movement of a concerto piece or other concert piece ranging from five to 15 minutes long, according to the Palo Alto Philharmonic Website. Applicants must submit an application form with a $25 non-refundable fee, and a demo of their piece recorded on CD, DVD or tape by Dec. 31.

Once finalists are chosen, they will perform to a group of judges on Feb. 26 at the Palo Alto Arts Center Auditorium. Of these finalists, six to eight winners will be performing in a concert on Sunday, May 21, 2006, in the Cubberley Theatre.

"The point of this competition is to provide the opportunity to perform with an orchestra to several winners, some of which may not have had a previous opportunity to work with an orchestra," said Geri Actor, Palo Alto Philharmonic board member and musicians’ coordinator.

This is the second concerto movement competition held by the Palo Alto Philharmonic, an orchestra founded in 1988 by local volunteer musicians.

"We consist of semi-professional and amateur musicians, teachers, engineers, scientists, and doctors," Actor said.

Students from high school, college and graduate school are also part of the organization. The Palo Alto Philharmonic is managed and run by board directors and associates, according to Actor. Ann Krinitsky is this season’s music director,. Lee Actor, the assistant conductor of the Palo Alto Philharmonic, is also the composer-in-residence and has composed several pieces for the group to perform, Actor said.

The Palo Alto Philharmonic performs many times throughout each season. There are four orchestra concerts each season, as well as a youth and family concert. This year, the youth and family concert will consist of performances by the winners of the concerto movement competition. The Palo Alto Philharmonic also performs two chamber concerts with soloists and ensembles, Actor said.

According to Actor, the orchestra’s next concert will be on Feb. 18, featuring the world premiere of a timpani concerto written by Lee Actor.

"[The concert will be] performed by the principal timpanist of the Honolulu Symphony, Stuart Chafetz," Actor said.

The Palo Alto Philharmonic held its first Concerto Movement Competition, sponsored by an Applied Materials and Arts Council Silicon Valley grant, three years ago.

"Last time we had over 60 applicants, including many different wind and string instruments, piano and voice," Actor said.

Judges chose 16 finalists, according to Actor. Seven winners were selected from the group of finalists performed in a concert in June 2003.

"We could have planned two full concerts without disappointing the audience," Actor said. "It was very successful."

Details and application form for the Concerto Movement Competition may be found at http://www.paphil.org/CMC.html

For more information about the Palo Alto Philharmonic, visit http://paphil.org