Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra

Ever since its founding in 1987 by Leonard Bernstein, the international Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra has enjoyed a superb reputation worldwide. Every year it is formed newly: Young musicians from all over the world are given the opportunity to study and perform great works from the orchestral literature with famous conductors. The programs will be presented in concerts within the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

Registration

The audition registration can be completed via our registration form.

Preview 2026

5 Orchestra Projects with Teddy Abrams, Andrew Manze, Oksana Lyniv, Stefan Geiger and principal conductor Christoph Eschenbach.

Hector Berlioz: Harold on Italie

Ludwig van Beethoven Sinfonie No. 3 

Antonín Dvořák: Sinfonie No. 9

Edvard Grieg: Peer-Gynt-Suite No. 1

Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto

Richard Staruss: Also sprach Zarathustra

and other works

Duration: June 28th until August 18th

Chamber Music and Seminars 

A team of principal players from top-rank German orchestras and professors from European music academies leads chamber music and sectional rehearsals. In addition seminars and workshops addresses different issues in career and personal development.

Accomodation & Rehearsals

Rendsburg is a lively old town situated one hour north of Hamburg between the river Eider and the Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal). Here young people from around the world not only grow together as an orchestra, but they also form a social community. The »Nordkolleg« with its beautiful gardens and perfect facilities for accommodation and sectional rehearsals offers an ideal situation for a lively campus atmosphere. The tutti rehearsals take place in the inspiring surrounding of the »NordArt«, one of Europeans biggest exhibition for contemporary art. 

Grant

After a successful audition, each musician will receive a grant to cover travel, bed and board (shared rooms) and tuition expenses. Travel expenses will be paid from and to the place of study. 

Age limit

Musicians must be born after February 28th, 1999

Registration fee

50 € for auditions in Asia, Europe, USA & Canada
15 € for auditions in South America & Istanbul

Registration 

November 1st until December 14th (for South America December 1st) 

Auditions 

All information is subject to change.

Strings:

Amsterdam (11.01. tbc) ⦁ Basel (24.01.) ⦁ Berlin (20.01.) ⦁ Buenos Aires (19.12.) ⦁ Chicago (30.01.) ⦁ Frankfurt (10.01.) ⦁ Houston (27.01) ⦁ Istanbul (tba) ⦁ London (18.01.) ⦁ Madrid (06. & 07.02.) ⦁ Milan (23.1.) ⦁ Munich (22.1.) ⦁ New York (31.01.) ⦁ Paris (19.01.)  ⦁ San Francisco (26.01.) ⦁ Santiago de Chile (17.12.) ⦁ Sao Paulo (15.12.) ⦁ Seoul (10.01) ⦁ Taipei (11.01.) ⦁ Tokyo (12.01.) ⦁ Toronto (29.01.) ⦁ Vienna (21.01.)

Winds:

Amsterdam (11.01. tbc) ⦁ Basel (24.01) ⦁ Berlin (20.01.) ⦁ Chicago (30.01.) ⦁  Frankfurt (21.02.) ⦁ Istanbul (tba) ⦁ London (18.01) ⦁  Madrid (06. & 07.02.) ⦁ Milan (23.01.) ⦁ Munich (22.01) ⦁ New York (31.01) ⦁  *New* Oslo (tba) ⦁ Paris (19.01.) ⦁ *New* Seoul (09.01) ⦁  *New* Stockholm (tba) ⦁  *New* Tokyo (08.01.) ⦁ Vienna (21.01.)

 

Percussion:

Amsterdam (19.01.)  ⦁ Berlin (14.02.) ⦁ Boston (08.02) ⦁ Frankfurt (17.01.)  ⦁ London (18.01.) ⦁ Munich (21.01.) ⦁ New York (10.02.)  ⦁ Seoul (10. & 11.01.) ⦁ Zaragoza (23. & 24.01.) 

Harp:

Basel (31.01.) ⦁ Cologne (02.02.) ⦁ Salzburg (01.02.)  

Call for applications extended until January 15th! For harp only! Regsitration via E-Mail (festivalorchester@shmf.de).

Winds

In exeptional cases applicants can audition in those places marked for strings only (the audition will be recorded and subsequently played back to the respective jury member). Please contact the management before registration in this case.

Jury

Agnes Monreal
Kai Oesterwinter 
Leonor Rodrigues
Strings
Sonja van Beek (Hochschule für Musik Saar)
Prof. Ingrid Zur (Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main)
Woodwinds
Tom Owen (Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Conservatorium Maastricht)
Prof. Malte Refardt (Folkwang Universität der Künste)
Brass
Prof. Paul van Zelm (Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln)
Percussion
Guido Rückel (Münchner Philharmoniker)
Harp
Antonia Schreiber (Gürzenich-Orchester Köln)
Prof. Sarah O'Brien (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste)

For further questions please have a look at our  FAQ