2026 SFIPC Competition
2026 SFIPC Competition
2026
San Francisco International
Piano Competition
The 2026 San Francisco International Piano Competition welcomes pianists of all ages from around the world!
Location: San Francisco Conservatory of Music
The 2026 SFIPC is thrilled to announce that we will have an Online + In-Person competition this year from May to August. The winners will receive over $10,000 cash prizes, 2027 Festival Scholarships, and a recital in the first prize winner in San Francisco, and Los Angeles in 2027.
The preliminary round will be conducted online/live, with performances evaluated through submitted videos. Six finalists will be selected to perform live before the judges at the Caroline Concert Hall at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on August 6-7, 2025. Applications and performance videos must be submitted by May 1, 2025.
The total prize for the 2025 competition will exceed $20,000 USD including cash prizes, concert opportunities, and full scholarships of the 2027 Bay PianoFest.
Rising Talented (Age 4-18)
Participants in the Rising Talent Division are assigned to categories according to their age, from Rising Star I (Age 5 & under) through Adult (Age 19+).
Preliminary Round (Video Recording/Live)
Free Choice of Repertoire-category time limit
Final Round (Live Performance in San Francisco)
Free Choice of Repertoire-category time limit
Category：
Rising Star I (Age 5 & under) — Max. 4 mins
Rising Star II (Age 6–7) — Max. 5 mins
Youth I (Age 8–9) — Max. 6 mins
Youth II (Age 10–11) — Max. 7 mins
Junior I (Age 12–13) — Max. 8 mins
Junior II (Age 14–15) — Max. 9 mins
Senior (Age 16–18) — Max. 10 mins
Adult (Age 19+) — Max. 10 mins
Young Artists (Age 12-17)
Applicants for this competition category must be at least 12 years old at the start of the preliminary round (May 1, 2026) and no older than 18 at the conclusion of the Competition (August 6, 2026).
Preliminary Round (Video Recording of 15-20 minutes)
One Virtuosic Etude
One Movement from a Classical Sonata (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, or Schubert)
Free Choice of Repertoire
Final Round (Live Performance of 25-30 minutes in San Francisco)
One movement from a classical sonata (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert)
Free Choice of Repertoire
Artists (Age 18-35)
Applicants for this competition category must be at least 18 years old at the start of the preliminary round (May 1, 2026) and no older than 35 at the conclusion of the Competition (August 6, 2026).
Preliminary Round (Video Recording of 20-25 minutes)
One Virtuosic Etude
One Movement from a Classical Sonata (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, or Schubert)
Free Choice of Repertoire
Final Round (Live Performance of 35-40 minutes in San Francisco)
One movement from a classical sonata (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert)
Free Choice of Repertoire