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SDMTA Student Competitions

2024 Competitors Welcome!



The 2024 SDMTA Conference will be held November 7-9 at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD. This year's conference will feature baritone Mark Billy as our conference guest artist. Mr. Billy enjoys a multifaceted career in recital, concert, and opera work, as well as teaching. He has a voice that “captivates and hearkens to the golden age of bel canto singing.” As a singer of Native (Choctaw) ancestry, he is “passionate about the furthering of music education and Indigenous culture.” You can read more about him at www.markbillybaritone.com.

Noteworthy Items

Student Competition Results

You can access the MTNA student competitions page here.

Register at TenutoWeb.

Important Dates

MTNA Registration deadline:
3:00 pm Eastern Time, September 11, 2024

SDMTA Registration deadline:
11:59 pm Central Time, September 20, 2024

SDMTA Competition Fees

Elementary (Ages 10-11): $20.00

Junior (Ages 12-13): $20.00

Senior (Ages 14-18): $25.00

Collegiate: $30.00

Age Categories are based on age of student on September 1, 2024.

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 two 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 2024 and beyond!