Ensemble & repertoire guide
Eligible Ensembles & Repertoire
Find your ensemble. Choose your strongest music. Submit your best 5 minutes.
Who can enter
String-based chamber music.
The inaugural Cup is built around established chamber combinations with strings at their core — including traditions that incorporate piano, woodwinds or horn.
Ensembles have 3–9 undergraduate musicians representing one accredited university, with at least two string players (violin, viola, cello or double bass). Music majors and non-majors, coached and self-organized ensembles are all welcome. Eligible university/conservatory dual-degree students may take part; conservatory-only undergraduate programs and graduate-only students are not eligible. Each musician may perform in one ensemble per year.
Eligible instruments
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double bass
Piano
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
Horn
Proposed inaugural exclusions
Guitar
Saxophone
Percussion
Voice
Electronic instruments
Other brass
Not part of the inaugural Cup — we hope to include these in future editions.
Example Ensembles and Repertoire
| Ensemble | Example composers & works |
|---|---|
| String Trio | Beethoven, Op. 9 |
| String Quartet | Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn |
| Piano Trio | Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms |
| Piano Quartet | Mozart, Brahms |
| Piano Quintet | Schumann, Dvořák |
| Clarinet Quintet | Mozart, Brahms |
| String Sextet | Brahms |
| Septet | Beethoven, Op. 20 |
| Octet | Schubert, D. 803 |
| Nonet | Spohr, Op. 31; Martinů, Nonet No. 2 |
These examples are illustrative, not exhaustive. Other established chamber works for eligible instrumentation are welcome.
Choosing your music
Your strongest 4:00–5:30.
Submit one continuous 4:00–5:30 performance: a complete short work, a movement, or another coherent excerpt. Score cuts are allowed when disclosed in your application.
The jury listens for musicianship, interpretation, ensemble cohesion and artistic quality — not difficulty alone.
No coach is required. We encourage ensembles formed through university chamber music courses and programs, as well as student organizations.
Recording
One continuous take.
Record one continuous, unedited take. Trimming silence at the start and end is fine; splicing, audio corrections, editing or combining takes are not.
A smartphone recording is acceptable as long as every musician can be seen and heard.