Competitions

Composers are invited to create a Symphonina and submit to our Symphonina competitions.

Guidelines for creating a Symphonina

  1. The full composition should generally be less than 10 minutes, and never longer than 12 minutes. It should be tonal rather than atonal.
  2. The composition should have three or four movements. Ideally, the format for each movement should be in a different tempo, such as allegro, adagio, allegro.
  3. The composition should feature all elements of a typical orchestra: strings, woodwinds, and brass. It may also include percussion and featured instrumental performances, as found in concertos.
  4. Keep in mind how your composition will sound and appear when performed live. For example, if your composition requires 48 violins, it will be unlikely to be performed live.
  5. If you would like to have the Symphonina Foundation endorse your composition, please contact us for details on how to send it to us for consideration.

2026 - Best Symphonina of the Year Award Competition

Now is the time to start working on your Symphonina for the 2026 Symphonina of the Year Award Competition. Composers from around the world are invited to submit their best original (unpublished) Symphonina for consideration from November 1, 2026 until 11:59pm, Pacific Time, December 10, 2026 to Dr. David Fogel at david.fogel@symphonina.org in mp3 format. Only one submission for consideration may be offered by a composer. Contestants must read and agree to the full rules of the contest.   

2025 - Best Symphonina of the Year Award Competition

The Symphonina Foundation is pleased to officially announce the winners of the 2025 Best Symphonina of the Year competition. First prize winner, Christopher Siu (Canada), was awarded the $2000 grand prize. Jordan Jinosko was selected as runner-up and earned the $1000 runner-up prize. 

The Symphonina Foundation thanks all the volunteer judges: Allison Charney, Anna Williams, Bernadett Nyari, Chetan Tierra, Christopher Reed, Daniel Fisher, David Fogel, David Leiman, Diana Tash, Gary Gray, Hamed Erfani, Ian Gindes, James Dumas, Joanne Lazzaro, Mary Dawood Catlin, Rasa Vitkauskaite, Shaun Drew, Sophia Agranovich, Steve Locks, Tess Remy-Schumacher, Vivian Fang Liu, Wilhem Von Dungen, David Arkenstone, and Zain Effendi. 

Please email any questions regarding the contest to David at david.fogel@symphonina.org.