Orvieto Musica Festival Residency

Sydney Eisteddfod invites all violinists, violists, and cellists over 18 years of age to apply to form the 2025 Sydney Eisteddfod Quartet and undertake a residency at Orvieto Musica 2025, a premiere chamber music festival in Umbria, Italy. Existing string chamber groups are also encouraged to apply.

This partnership allows four young musicians from Australia to travel to the festival to experience inspiring concerts, receive valuable international performing opportunities and engage with colleagues from around the world. The festival is held in the beautiful Umbrian hill town of Orvieto and brings together emerging and professional artists from around the world in a select, diverse, world-class line-up of instrumental and vocal programs.

Key dates

Applications Open: 13 December, 2024
Video Auditions Due By: 3 February, 2025
Second-Round Live Auditions: 6-8 February, 2025
Orvieto Musica Festival: 15 June – 5 July, 2025

The Opportunity

Sydney Eisteddfod will be forming a resident string quartet to participate in the Orvieto Musica Festival String Chamber Intensive between 15 June and 5 July 2025. Selected players will receive:

Return flights and accommodation in Italy
Masterclasses during the festival
A feature concert performance
Four chamber music performances
Sightseeing trips and language lessons.

Due to the partnership between Sydney Eisteddfod and Orvieto Musica, each participant’s festival fees (US$4,500) have been generously subsidised. However, each successful musician will be required to contribute US$500 towards their festival enrolment.

All flights, accommodation and festival passes are provided, as well as breakfast and a meal voucher per day.

Find out more about the Orvieto Musica Festival: https://www.orvietomusica.org/

Read about the experience of the Sydney Eisteddfod Quartet in 2024: https://www.orvietomusica.org/the-sydney-eisteddfod-quartet-reflects-on-their-time-at-orvieto-musica/

Criteria

Open to violinists, violists, and cellists over 18 years of age on 24 January 2025. Soloists, as well as existing string chamber groups, are encouraged to apply. Applicants must hold a current passport, be available to travel independently and attend the festival between 15 June and 5 July 2025.

Audition Fee: $40.

Video Audition Requirements

Upload:

Short bio (max. 250 words), highlighting your experience working in an ensemble. For chamber ensembles, a short bio of the ensemble (max. 300 words), introducing the members and performance history as an ensemble.
A video (uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo) of you performing two contrasting works, with a total performance time of up to 10 minutes. Solo performances are admissible, however, chamber and/or accompanied performances are preferred. Videos of past performances are allowed. Please clearly indicate the work’s title and composer, along with the name of the applicant(s) in the title and/or description box.

Progression to the second round will be selected by the audition panel.

Second Round Live Audition

Successful applicants will be required to attend an in-person audition and workshop at Sydney Eisteddfod’s Chippen Street Creative Hub, to assess their suitability and compatibility for this project.

Further details will be provided to the candidates at the time of progression to this round.

Audition Panel

Peter Clark and Amalia Hall

FAQs

Is there a fee for audition?

Yes. The fee is $40.00 per person or group.

Do I get any feedback from my audition?

We are unable to provide individual feedback on auditions. All information gained through the audition process is private and confidential. This mirrors the audition processes in the music profession, and we strive to prepare musicians for the reality of professional audition and performance standards and procedures.

Who is on the panel?

Peter Clark and Amalia Hall

If I am selected, what do I have to pay?

The selected musicians will contribute US$500 each towards to festival enrolment. All flights, accommodation and festival passes are provided, as well as breakfast and a meal voucher per day.

For all further queries, please contact [email protected].