The Medalist Concert Band is pleased to continue its sponsorship of an annual performance competition for high school band students. Named for a long-time music educator and the original conductor of the Medalist Concert Band, the Earl C. Benson Concerto Competition is now in its sixteenth year.
The purposes of the competition are to identify talented wind and percussion musicians and to encourage high school students to pursue further musical study. In doing so, the competition supports one of the key tenets of the Medalist Concert Bandʼs mission statement: to provide young musicians with a model of music as a lifelong hobby.
Application Requirements and Process
The Earl C. Benson Concerto Competition is open to students who are enrolled in schools in the Twin Cities metropolitan and surrounding area, as well as selected outstate areas. Students must be in grades 10–12 during the 2025–2026 school year; they cannot already have graduated from high school. The required application materials include a completed application form and a video recording of the student’s performance. There is no application fee. The application deadline is Friday, January 30, 2026. (See the application form for directions for submitting the materials.)
The other application requirements are as follows:
The competition is open to players of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments (no piano).
Each applicant must submit a video recording of his or her performance of a selection from the list of approved repertoire provided by the Medalist Concert Band or an alternative selection that has been preapproved by the band’s music director, Professor Jerry Luckhardt. (See the list of Concerti Repertoire for details about this approval process.) Based on the applicants’ recorded performances, a group of finalists will be selected and invited to audition live.
Each finalist must provide his or her own live piano accompanist. A finalist may not audition without an accompanist or with a recorded accompanist.
Each finalist must provide a score of his or her selection for the panel at the time of the audition.
Each finalist must be ready to audition at his or her assigned time and be prepared for an audition of approximately 15 minutes. Each finalist should be prepared to answer questions from the panel and to perform any requested passage from his or her entire audition piece.
All applicants and finalists will be judged according to the highest musical standards by a panel of recognized music educators, including Professor Jerry Luckhardt, Medalistʼs music director. All applicants and finalists must accept the decisions of the judges as final.
The winner of the Earl C. Benson Concerto Competition will receive a $1,000 cash award and be the featured soloist with the Medalist Concert Band at its 2025–2026 finale concert on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 4:00 p.m., at the Schneider Theater in the Bloomington Center for the Arts (1800 West Old Shakopee Road).
In addition, the winner of the competition must be able to meet these conditions:
For the May 17 performance, the winner will play a piece selected by the Medalist Bandʼs music director in advance of the performance (approximately two months).
The winner will attend three rehearsals with the Medalist Band before the performance, as well as a dress rehearsal the day of the concert (see dates below).
Key Dates
Student application form and video recording due (see submission directions on application form): Friday, January 30, 2026
Finalists selected and audition times announced: Friday, February 6, 2026
Finalists’ auditions held (at Center for the Arts in Bloomington): Saturday, March 21, 2026
Winner notified: Friday, March 27, 2026
Winner rehearses with Medalist Concert Band (at Jefferson High School in Bloomington): three Mondays—April 20, May 4, and May 11, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
Winner performs with Medalist Concert Band (at Center for the Arts in Bloomington): Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. (Dress-rehearsal/Sound check at 3:00 p.m.)
EARL C. BENSON COMPETITION WINNERS
2010 | Carley Olson, clarinet | Watertown-Mayer HS
2011 | Timothy Morris, euphonium | Hopkins HS
2012 | Hallie Houser, flute | Eastview HS
2013 | Brandon Caplin, percussion | Apple Valley HS
2013 | Kaitlyn Mann, clarinet | Rosemount HS
2014 | Olivia Nichols, alto saxophone | Eastview HS
2015 | Brenna Sherman, flute | Rochester Lourdes HS
2016 | Anders Peterson, clarinet | Northfield HS
2017 | Lauren Swee, trombone | Waconia HS
2018 | Duncan Henry, bassoon | Prior Lake HS
2019 | Adam Pazandak, alto saxophone | Bloomington Jefferson HS
2020 | Joe Mahin, euphonium | Wayzata HS
2022 | Jacob Welch, alto saxophone | Lakeville South HS
2023 | Arlo Hollander, trombone | Robbinsdale Cooper HS
2024 | Christian Garner, trumpet | Minnetonka HS
2025 | Ryan Vecchio, tuba | Edina HS
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