Up-and-coming musicians will compete on March 19 in Bluffton University’s Yoder Recital Hall during the Lima Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artists Competition for Strings. The competition will culminate with a finalists’ concert at 7:30 p.m.
 
During the competition, participants in two divisions compete for cash awards up to $600 and the opportunity to perform during the finalists’ concert. Auditions for the evening concert begin at 1 p.m. Both the concert and the auditions are free and open to the public.
 
The senior division contest is open to any student, up to age 26, enrolled in a college or conservatory in a degree program. Senior participants will perform one movement from a major concerto or concert piece published for soloist and orchestra totaling at least eight minutes.
 
The junior division is open to students between the ages of 17 and 21. Junior participants will perform one movement from a concerto or a concert piece for soloist and orchestra with a minimum of five minutes in length.
 
All contestants must perform music from memory. Two contestants in each division will be selected to perform in the finalists’ concert. This performance will determine the first place winners.
 
Judges for the competition will be Mark Rudoff, associate professor of orchestral instruments at The Ohio State University, and Florin Simioanca, lecturer in music at Ohio Northern University. Maestro Crafton Beck of the Lima Symphony Orchestra will present the awards.