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SDMTA Student Competitions

2026 Competitors Welcome!


The 2026 SDMTA Conference will be held November 5-7 at Augustana University in Brookings, SD.

Noteworthy Items

Student Competition Results

Register at TenutoWeb.

Important Dates

MTNA State Competitions guidelines/rules/information

State Audition Date: November 6, 2026

Location: Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD

Online Registration Entry Deadline:
3:00 pm Eastern Time, Wednesday, September 9th, 2026

Winners/Representatives will advance to the West Central Division Online-Only Video Competitions.

State Chair: Melanie Timmerman - mltimmerman@swiftel.net


SDMTA Competitions - November 6-7, 2026

Location: Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD

Online Registration Entry Deadline:
11:50 pm Central Time, Friday, September 18th, 2026

SDMTA Competition Chair: Melanie Timmerman - mltimmerman@swiftel.net

SDMTA Competition Fees

Elementary (Ages 10-11): $30.00

Elementary Duet: $20.00 per student

Junior (Ages 12-13): $30.00

Junior Duet: $20.00 per student

Senior (Ages 14-18): $35.00

Senior Duet: $25.00 per student

Collegiate: $40.00

Collegiate Duet: $30.00 per student

SDMTA Young Artist: $75.00

Age Categories are based on age of student on September 1st, 2026.

Piano duets must register in the category with the age of the oldest student.




Announcing SDMTA’s New Distinguished Performance Awards!


Beginning in 2024, there will be additional prizes available in our SDMTA competitions. This award, which includes a monetary prize, will recognize the best performances of works from a distinguished category of composers. This category, which will change on an annual basis, will be selected by SDMTA’s board of directors. Competition categories for the first three years of this initiative have already been named:

A maximum of three total awards in each instrument category (brass, piano, strings, voice, woodwinds) will be given each year, with one award per instrument category being given for each of the following age groups: junior (ages 10-13), senior (ages 14- 18), and collegiate. Awards will only be given in SDMTA competitions, not MTNA competitions.

The recipient of each award will be selected by the category adjudicator. The adjudicator, at their discretion, may choose to not award a prize in any category or age group if they do not find that the performances of selected repertoire are worthy of recognition. The recipient can, but does not have to be, the winner of their age group and category. The monetary prize for each award varies by age group: $20 (junior), $25 (senior), and $30 (collegiate).

SDMTA encourages all interested students and teachers to explore new composers and repertoire as we plan for our annual competitions in 2025 and beyond!