ELEVATING YOUNG MUSICIANS WITH INSPIRATION, CONNECTIONS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENT
103 Years Awarding Student Scholarships
- There is no cost to apply.
- Scholarship awards are:
– College & Graduate Students: 1st prize is $2,500, 2nd prize is $1,750, 3rd prize is $500
– Jr. & Sr. High Students: 1st prize is $2,000, 2nd prize is $1,500, 3rd prize is $500 - The Preliminary round is virtual while Finals are in person with a nationally recognized judge. All finalists will have the opportunity to participate in a live session following their category/division’s auditions to receive additional education and feedback from their judge.
NEW RULE in 2026 for the Final Round ONLY:
Brass & Woodwinds, Guitar, Piano, & Strings will have 15 minutes to perform two pieces for in-person Finals. The Voice category will remain at 10 minutes total.
2026 Competition Dates
Applications Open: October 13, 2025
Application Deadline: January 12, 2026
Repertoire Change Deadline: January 18, 2026
Preliminaries Video Submission Deadline: January 25, 2026
Finalists Emailed: March 3, 2026
In-Person Finals: March 21 & 22, 2026 at Macalester College
Saturday, March 21- Piano I & II and Strings I & II
Sunday, March 22- Piano III & IV, Strings III & IV, and all Brass & Winds, Guitar, and Voice
Musicians on the Rise Winners Recital: April 25, 2026 at 1:00 p.m., Ordway Concert Hall
More About the Competition
The Bruce P. Carlson Student Scholarship Competition, held each spring, awards a total of over $70,000 annually to young musicians to be used for further musical education.
The competition began in 1922, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Schubert Club. It started modestly with three winners representing the categories of voice, violin, and piano. The competition has since grown to fifteen different categories with three cash prizes awarded for each category to be used for further musical education. The winners of each category are also invited to perform in the annual Winners Recital, Musicians on the Rise.
The Competition is named in memory of Bruce P. Carlson, Executive Director of Schubert Club from 1968 to 2006.
Applicants must be a resident or enrolled in a learning institution within the 5-state region (MN, WI, SD, ND or IA).
“The Competition has been an indispensable source for musical growth, and a proving ground where I could test my skill and artistry. I feel like I’ve grown up as a musician through the Schubert Club Competition, and it is an opportunity for which I am immensely grateful.”
– Liam Ainslie Mayo, 2017 Piano Winner
2026 Finals Round Judges
Allison Loggins-Hull, Brass & Woodwinds
Celebrated as a musical “powerhouse” (The Washington Post), Allison Loggins-Hull is a composer, flutist, and producer whose work defies genre, from symphonic music to film scores, chamber and electronic music. Her signature style of composing for orchestra is characterized by unique sonic effects that echo contemporary music production techniques. Her works are profoundly influenced by Black American music, creating a vibrant and kaleidoscopic sonic palette. Thematically, her compositions are deeply rooted in the experiences of community, culture, and life, offering a rich and evocative musical narrative. She was The Cleveland Orchestra’s 11th Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow and currently serves as the New Jersey Symphony’s Resident Artistic Partner.
Matthew Slotkin, Guitar
Matthew Slotkin is an acclaimed performer, teacher, and scholar, and has appeared in leading venues on six continents. Soundboard magazine called him an “exceptional” player. Slotkin is an Associate Professor of Music at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, where he has directed the guitar program since 2004. He has given masterclasses at numerous institutions and festivals including the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, Victorian College of the Arts (Australia), ESMAE (Portugal), National University of La Plata (Argentina), the Alexandria Guitar Festival, and many others.
Anna Polonsky, Piano
Anna Polonsky is widely in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. Ms. Polonsky has collaborated with the Guarneri, Orion, Juilliard, and Shanghai Quartets, and with such musicians as Mitsuko Uchida, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, and Emanuel Ax. She has given concerts in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall’s Stern, Weill, and Zankel Halls, and has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. A frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she was a member of the Chamber Music Society Two during 2002-2004. She is a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.
William Fedkenheuer, Strings
William Fedkenheuer is widely respected as a performer, teacher, and consultant. Uniquely drawing on over two decades of experience onstage and off as a member of three internationally renowned string quartets (The Miró, Fry Street, Borromeo Quartets), he dedicates his life to serving others through performance, teaching, personal and professional development. As a soloist and chamber musician, William performs on the world’s most prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall, Esterhazy Castle, Suntory Hall, and the Taipei National University of the Arts. He is currently the second violinist of the Miró Quartet since 2011 and has appeared on numerous recordings, and is the recipient of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Martin E. Segal Award. William serves as an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music and oversees its Young Professional String Quartet Program. He was previously on the faculty at the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Sasha Cooke, Voice
Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been praised for her “agile, glamorous presence” by Opéra Magazine and as a “luminous standout” by the New York Times. Ms. Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over 90 symphony orchestras worldwide frequently in the works of Mahler. In 2022 Ms. Cooke was appointed at the Music Academy of the West as Co-Director of the Lehrer Vocal Institute. Her album How do I Find you was nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Solo Album.