2026 Preliminary Round — Boston Regional, MA

Date: May 23rd, 2026

Location: Steinway & Sons

1069 Washington St, Newton, MA 02465

Application Fee:
Early Bird: $170
Regular: $185

Important Date:

  • April 1, 2026 - Applications Submission Deadline (Early Bird)

  • April 20, 2026 - Regular Applications Submission Deadline

  • May 23 , 2026 - Boston Regional Competition

  • May 23 , 2026 - Finalists announced

  • August 6-7, 2026 - Final Round Competition (San Francisco) & Awards Ceremony 

Apply by April 20th

Meet the 2026 Boston Jury

Get to know the distinguished members of our jury, each bringing a unique perspective and wealth of experience to this year’s competition.

  • Jorge Soto is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist with an active and diverse career in both North and South America. In 2023, Mr. Soto became Principal Conductor of the United Nations Festival Orchestra for Hope. He is also the Principal Conductor of the New Philharmonia Orchestra (Newton, MA) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra (Worcester, MA).

    In addition to his regular posts, Mr. Soto has collaborated with several orchestras, most recently the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted the Boston Symphony Chamber Players on three occasions: in October 2019 for a performance of Stravinsky’s Octet at Jordan Hall, at Symphony Hall in December 2020, leading the ensemble in Elena Langer’s Five Reflections on Water (filmed and released as part of a January 2021 BSO streaming concert), and in March 2023, conducting Jessie Montgomery’s Sgt. McCauley at Symphony Hall. Since 2020-21, Mr. Soto has served as assistant or cover conductor for the BSO on several occasions, including for performances with Andris Nelsons, John Williams, David Robertson, Giancarlo Guerrero, Thomas Wilkins, and Stefan Asbury, among others. In addition, he assisted Gustavo Dudamel in the preparation of Puccini’s Turandot with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in December 2015.

    Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Mr. Soto is a product of El Sistema, an innovative program that uses classical music as a vehicle for social change. He began his musical studies in Venezuela at the Vicente Emilio Sojo State Conservatory, later studying violin at the Latin American Academy of Violin under Rhio Sanchez, Francisco Diaz and José Francisco Del Castillo. A founding member of the Simón Bolívar National Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, he has also performed with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. He remains very active in El Sistema in Venezuela, where he teaches violin, coaches chamber music, and conducts orchestras around the country.

    Mr. Soto graduated with a Master of Music degree in conducting from the New England Conservatory. His conducting teachers and mentors include Harold Farberman, Jorma Panula, Stephen Tucker, Jani Telaranta, and Charles Peltz. On violin, he has studied with Sophie Vilker, Janne Malmivaara, Peter Sulski, and Timothy Schwarz

  • Christina Dietrich, pianist, has built a distinguished career as both a performer and educator, appearing throughout the United States and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. Her concert appearances have included such notable venues as Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, and Lincoln Center in New York.

    For more than twelve years, Ms. Dietrich was a regular artist on the New York Public Library Concert Series and gave over fifty performances for the Chopin Society of New England in the Boston area alone. At the Chopin Society, her collaboration with the distinguished soprano Danuta Sava-Wysocka led to the Boston premiere of the complete songs of Fryderyk Chopin. In recognition of her artistic accomplishments, she was specially invited by the Consul General of Poland to perform at the Polish Consulate in New York, and later received a letter of recognition and thanks from then-President Lech Wałęsa of Poland.

    Ms. Dietrich received her Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, her Master of Music degree from Boston University, and also pursued doctoral studies there. Her principal teachers included A. Ramon Rivera, Victor Rosenbaum, Veronica Jochum, and the internationally acclaimed pianist Anthony di Bonaventura.

    Through her teachers, Ms. Dietrich’s musical lineage traces back to Beethoven and Salieri, as well as to the traditions of Franz Liszt and Theodor Leschetizky, two of the great schools of piano playing. She is deeply committed to carrying this legacy forward through her work as a teacher, performer, and public advocate for what she calls the “joy of classical music.”

    In addition to her performance career, Professor Dietrich regularly presents masterclasses in piano performance and serves as an adjudicator for competitions. She is currently Director of Belmont Piano Academy; faculty member and Chair of the Piano Department at Groton Hill Music Center; faculty at Steinert’s Piano Academy; Adjunct Music Professor at Mount Wachusett Community College; Artistic Director of the Steinway Society of Massachusetts; and a Steinway Ambassador. Since 2017, she has received the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award six times. Most recently, she was also named a Top Teacher by the Crescendo International Competition and the Little Mozarts International Competition.

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