The European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) is a European umbrella organisation for about fifty national and international music competitions for young people. Founded in the 1960s in order to develop the musical education of young Europeans, EMCY arranges concerts (with and without orchestra), broadcasts, tours, award ceremonies, master classes and courses for competition prize winners throughout Europe.
Every year, thousands of musicians under the age of twenty-five take part in EMCY member competitions. EMCY is a registered association under German law with an elected international board of five representatives, headed since 2012 by chairman Paul Scholer. Its registered office is in Munich, Germany. In 2020 EMCY celebrated its 50th birthday. An anniversary brochure has been created to highlight the events from the last five decades.
The EMCY board is elected every four years at the general assembly. Current members are:
- Paul Scholer, Luxembourg (president)
- Mária Slaninová, Slovakia (vice president for national competitions)
- Justas Dvarionas [lt], Lithuania (vice president for international competitions)
- Àngels Civit Fons, Spain (board member for national competitions)
- Boris Svetiev, Macedonia (board member for international competitions)
The EMCY office is located in Munich's Creative Quarter (Kreativquartier) in Schwere-Reiter-Str. 2B, 80637 Munich, Germany.
The EMCY general assembly gathers, in general, every two years in a different European country at the invitation of an EMCY member competition. The last one was held in Luxembourg in 2018, hosted by the Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes (UGDA).
General assemblies have been held in:
- 2002 – Altea (Spain): Juventudes Musicales de España
- 2004 – Dubrovnik (Croatia): HDGPP (Croatian national competition)
- 2006 – Saint Petersburg (Russia): Mravinsky International Competition for Youth
- 2008 – Kyiv (Ukraine): International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz
- 2010 – Heerlen (Netherlands): International Charles Hennen Concours
- 2012 – Ohrid (Macedonia): International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls'
- 2014 – Luxembourg: Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
- 2016 – Vilnius (Lithuania): National Lithuanian Balys Dvarionas Piano & String Competition, the International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and the International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
- 2018 – Luxembourg: Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
National competitions
Participation in these competitions is usually reserved for nationals or residents of the respective country. This often includes schools abroad, students at conservatoires or ex-patriates, however.
- Österreichischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb prima la musica in Austria
- podium.jazz.pop.rock... in Austria
- The Papandopulo Croatian Competition of young musicians in Croatia
- National Radio Competition of the Czech Republic 'Concertino Praga' in the Czech Republic
- Oresund Soloist in Denmark / Sweden
- Concours d'excellence – Confédération Musicale de France in France
- Jugend musiziert in Germany
- National Balys Dvarionas Piano and String Competition in Lithuania
- Concours Luxembourgoise pour Jeunes Solistes (Union Grand-Duc Adolphe (UGDA)) in Luxembourg
- Competition of the United Music and Dance Teacher of Macedonia in Macedonia
- Netherlands Violin Competition in the Netherlands
- Ungdommens Musikkmesterskap (Norwegian Music Competition for Youth) in Norway
- Prémio Jovens Músicos in Portugal
- EMCY Slovakia in Slovakia
- TEMSIG – Slovenian Music Competition for Youth in Slovenia
- Concurso Juventudes Musicales in Spain
- SJMW Classica in Switzerland
- SJMW Jazz&Pop in Switzerland
International competitions
These competitions are open to participants from all over the world. Many include categories which change every year.
- International Competition Young Virtuosos in Sofia, Bulgaria
- International Radio Competition for Young Musicians 'Concertino Praga' in Prague, Czech Republic
- Smetana International Piano Competition in Plzeň, Czech Republic
- Aarhus International Piano Competition in Aarhus, Denmark
- International Competition of Young Pianists dedicated to the Work of F. Chopin in Narva, Estonia
- Anna Amalia Competition for Young Guitarists in Weimar, Germany
- Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists in Ettlingen, Germany
- International Competition for Violin, Kloster Schöntal in Schöntal, Germany
- International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar, Germany
- International Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists in Weimar, Germany
- Pianale International Academy and Competition in Schlitz, Germany
- International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists in Vilnius, Lithuania
- International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists in Vilnius, Lithuania
- International Competition for Young Musicians 'Ohrid Pearls' in Ohrid, Macedonia
- International Competition for Young Pianists Artur Rubinstein in memoriam in Bydgoszcz, Poland
- International Competition for Young Pianists 'A Step Towards Mastery' in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- International Television Contest for Young Musicians 'Nutcracker' in Moscow, Russia
- Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition in Moscow, Russia
- Mravinsky International Competition for Youth in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Peter Toperczer International Piano Competition Košice in Košice, Slovakia
- International Competition for Young Pianists in memory of Vladimir Horowitz in Kyiv, Ukraine
- International Vladimir Krainev Young Pianists Competition in Kharkiv, Ukraine
- Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists in the UK
- International Competition “Glowing Harp”, Ukraine
- International Competition of Musical Art “Kharkiv Assemblies”, Ukraine
- Robert Schumann Competition for young pianists, Germany
- International piano competition of Orléans for youth ‘Brin d’herbe’, France
EMCY works to help prize winners in their musical and personal development. Performance and training opportunities throughout Europe are arranged by EMCY, together with its member competitions and partners. These concerts, tours, workshops, and master classes are international meeting points for young musicians.
EMCY also holds conferences for competition organisers (most recently in Luxembourg in 2018) and music educators on particular themes.