Premio del Conservatorio

What you win

This is a cash music competition run by the Conservatorio di Musica "Giuseppe Verdi" di Milano for its own students. Prizes go up to 5,000 EUR for first place, with second and third places also paid. The exact figure depends on your category:

• Solo instrument and voice (winds, keyboard/percussion, strings, singing): 4,000 EUR for first, 2,500 EUR for second, 1,500 EUR for third.
• Chamber music, jazz, pop-rock, early instruments: 5,000 EUR, 3,000 EUR and 2,000 EUR.
• Young talents (under-16s): 2,000 EUR, 1,000 EUR and 750 EUR.

On top of the money, first-place winners get real performance dates, for example concerts in the Conservatorio's own 2026/27 season and in partner concert series. The overall winner, the single best of all category winners chosen at the "Finalissima" (grand final), also earns a solo concert with orchestra and a professional audio-video recording. Composition winners receive commissions to write new orchestral or ensemble works.

Who can enter

• Where you study: You are enrolled as a student at the Conservatorio di Milano in the 2025/2026 academic year.
• Discipline: Your field fits one of ten categories: solo winds, keyboard and percussion, strings, chamber music, jazz, singing, composition, pop-rock or early instruments.
• Age: No age limit for most categories. The "Giovani Talenti" (young talents) category is only for students born after 1 January 2010.
• Teacher sign-off: Your reference teacher approves your registration.
• Past winners: If you already won first prize in a category, you cannot re-enter that category. Former overall winners cannot enter again at all.
• Graduates: You can only take part as one external member of a group of three or more, and only if you graduated within the last three academic years.

How to apply

Register online by 12 April 2026 using the entry form. If you enter the composition category, upload your score by the same date. Judging runs in stages: qualifying rounds from April to June 2026, finals in September and October, and the overall "Finalissima" on 11 October 2026 in the Sala Verdi. Each category needs a minimum number of entrants or it is cancelled.

How realistic are your chances?

Only students of one conservatory can enter, so the field is limited from the start, and it splits across ten categories. Your real competition is the other strong players in your own discipline. If you are a serious performer in a category with fewer entrants, a top-three place is well within reach. Winning the single overall prize is much harder, as it pits every category winner against each other.