Music is the language we all speak and the SCL Youth Music Festival gathers young talents from all over the world in Vienna, the capital of music, to perform together on some of the world´s most famous stages. Taking place every July in Vienna’s two main classical concert venues, the Golden Hall of the Musikverein and the Wiener Konzerthaus, the festival offers a truly international environment where a thousand young musicians speak the universal language of music, enjoy intercultural exchanges and build bridges that span continents.
Being one of the few festivals designed for choirs, bands and orchestras at the same time, the SCL Youth Music Festival offers a variety of options: Ensembles may participate either in the Competition or in the non-competitive Celebration. In addition to the competition or celebration we offer workshops within the SCL Academy. Top professionals form the international juries in the Competition and teach our Academy program at the Vienna University of Music. Follow the link Categories to see all the details that apply to you whether you are a choir, a band, an orchestra or a special performance group.
Enjoy interactive workshops and educational lectures, additional concerts with local audiences, and pre-and post-concert tours in Europe.
Here are the dates for our next festivals. Click on the date to get more information on each specific festival! You will also find the corresponding compulsory pieces for each year:
Here you can find the SCL 2022 pictures!
Find here a short overview of the festival program:
Festival Day 1: Friday |
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Afternoon | Opening Ceremony (St. Stephen's Cathedral / Musikverein or Wiener Konzerthaus) for all participants |
Conductor’s Kick-Off Meeting (all conductors) | |
Festival Day 2: Saturday |
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All day | Competition and Celebration at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein for Choirs, Orchestras, Bands and Summa Ensembles |
All day | Individual concerts and performances in Vienna and around Vienna (all groups) |
Festival Day 3: Sunday |
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All day | Competition and Celebration at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein for Choirs, Orchestras, Bands and Summa Ensembles |
All day | Workshops at the University of Music in Vienna for Choirs, Orchestras, Bands and Summa Ensembles |
All day | Individual concerts and performances in Vienna and around Vienna (all groups) |
Festival Day 4: Monday |
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All day | Workshops at the University of Music in Vienna for Choirs, Orchestras, Bands and Summa Ensembles |
Visit to the Haus der Musik*, an interactive sound museum | |
All day | Individual concerts and performances in Vienna and around Vienna (all groups) |
Festival Day 5: Tuesday |
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Morning | Individual city exploration of Vienna* |
Lecture, preparation for Gala Winners’ Concert and group photo at the Wiener Konzerthaus (all groups) | |
15:30 | Gala Winners' Concert (winners of the Competition on stage, all other participants in the audience) at the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus |
18:30 | Award ceremony, farewell reception (all participants) |
Festival Day 6: Wednesday |
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Departure from Vienna, further European concert tour where applicable | |
* details as per individual group itinerary - Program subject to change - |
Application to the SCL festival is open to young musicians of all nations below the age of 26. A maximum of 10% of the participants may be between 26 and 30 years of age. Conductors and piano players accompanying the choirs are not subject to the age limit.
The following steps are necessary for a successful application:
This video sums up the individual steps of the application process:
You are a brave reader! You made it to the bottom of our page and we would like to reward you with some goodies!
Here is a video showing some of the highlights of the SCL Festival in 2017 or read an article on the festival that was published in the International Choir Bulletin:
"International Choir Bulletin" - article for downloading
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