The Bendada International Music Festival Concerto Competition provides the talented musicians attending the 2025 Artist Academy with the unique opportunity to perform as soloists with orchestra, win monetary prizes and professional concert engagements.

The competition features two rounds:

• PRELIMINARY ROUND: it take places by video submission. The jury will invite up to 9 applicants to advance to the Final Round

• FINAL ROUND: it is a live concert where each finalist will perform as soloist with orchestra at the Sabugal Castle on Friday, August 1, 2025

The adjudication committee includes faculty members from the Bendada International Music Festival as well as guest artists.

ELIGIBILITY

All piano, violin, viola, cello, flute, guitar, and voice students enrolled in the 2025 BIMF Artist Academy can participate in the competition. However, the first, second, and third prize winners of past BIMF Concerto Competitions might not be eligible for this year’s competition. For additional information regarding the BIMF Artist Academy, please click here.

REPERTOIRE

The repertoire for the Concerto Competition should meet the following criteria:

• A piece, or a movement of a concerto, for solo instrument and string orchestra OR a piece, or a movement of a concerto, whose full orchestral part has been arranged for strings. For Example: concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, etc.
  *students are required to provide string orchestra parts if the arrangement is not widely available

• The chosen piece/concerto movement must be maximum 10 minutes in length

IMPORTANT: All participants should email the festival (bendadamusicfest@gmail.com) to receive repertoire approval before enrolling in the competition.

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

1. Applicants must email the festival at bendadamusicfest@gmail.com to receive repertoire approval before applying for the competition

2. Applicants must apply to the competition using the Artist Academy Application Form by Sunday, May 18, 2025

3. Applicants must pay the €30 Concerto Competition application fee, together with the Artist Academy Tuition & Fees, by Monday, June 16, 2025

4. Applicants must upload a video recording of their chosen piece to YouTube. The recording must be an unedited single-take performance. Piano accompaniment is optional, but strongly encouraged. The video must clearly show the entire body of the performer

5. Applicants must email the Youtube link to bendadamusicfest@gmail.com by Sunday, May 25, 2025

AWARDS & PERFORMANCES

Finalists of the concerto competition will perform as soloists with orchestra at the stunning Sabugal Castle on Friday, August 1, 2025.

• First Prize: 500€ + concerts engagements

• Second Prize: 350€ + concerts engagements

• Third Prize: 200€ + concerts engagements

PAST WINNERS

2024 BIMF CONCERTO COMPETITION

• First Prize ex-aequo “The Pena Family Award”: Francisco Couto, piano

• Solo performances in Boston (USA) and Paris (France)

• Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

• First Prize ex-aequo “The Hernandez Family Award”: António Antunes, piano

• Solo performance in Paris (France)

• Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

• Third Prize “Friends of the BIMF Award”: Tomás Silva, cello

  • Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

2023 BIMF CONCERTO COMPETITION

• First Prize “The Pena Family Award”: Mariana Pina, violin

• Solo performances in Boston (USA) and Paris (France)

• Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

• Second Prize “The Hernandez Family Award”: Sofia Alcântara, flute

• Solo performance in Paris (France)

• Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

• Third Prize “The Nielsen Family Award” ex-aequo: Beatriz Correia, cello, and Marco Pena, piano

• Solo performance in Paris (France)

• Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

2022 BIMF CONCERTO COMPETITION

• First Prize “The Pena Family Award”: Sofia Bagulho, soprano

  • Solo performances in Boston (USA) and Lisbon (Portugal)

  • Soloist with orchestra in Lisbon (Portugal)

• Second Prize “The Hernandez Family Award”: Martim Ricardo, flute

• Solo performance in Bendada (Portugal)

• Third Prize “The Nielsen Family Award”: Duarte Andrade, violin

• Solo performance in Bendada (Portugal)