Please read the following guidelines carefully before beginning your application to the Soloists & Ensembles programme and before sending any questions to the Verbier Festival Team.
English is the official language of this documentation. In the event of any discrepancy, the English version shall prevail.
WHO MAY APPLY
PROGRAMME DATES
HOW TO APPLY
APPLICATION FEE
COSTS FOR SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES
REFUND POLICY
AUDITION REPERTOIRE
AUDITION VIDEOS
FAQ
CONTACT
who may apply
Soloist applicants must be pianists, violinists, violists or violoncellists aged 16 to 26 on 1 July 2027. Candidates aged 13 to 15 on 1 July 2027 must apply to the Junior Students programme. Applications will not be accepted from students younger than 13.
Pre-formed trios and quartets may apply to the Soloists & Ensembles programme. The average age of the ensemble must be between 22 and 30 on 1 July 2027.
Musicians may participate twice in the Verbier Festival Academy’s Soloists & Ensembles programme and must submit a new application for their second participation. Participation as a Junior Student is not counted towards this limit. The Academy recommends, however, not participating two years in a row to allow musicians time to pursue their musical and personal development.
programme dates
Successful candidates must sign an agreement with the Verbier Festival Foundation, whereby they commit to participating in the entire Academy programme, from 11 July to 2 August 2027, and to respecting all of its rules.
Junior Students participate fully in chamber music masterclasses, but follow a lighter programme of masterclasses in their instrumental discipline, typically with one masterclass with each principal teacher of that discipline.
how to apply
Applications for the Soloists & Ensembles programme are submitted online via the getAcceptd platform. The use of Google Chrome is recommended to access the platform.
For Ensembles: only one of the musicians should submit an application for their group.
Application Deadline: 11 January 2027
All candidates must provide:
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Contact details
- Name, address, etc.
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Application information
- Date of birth, nationality, etc.
- Choice of programme for which they are applying (piano, violin, viola or cello for Soloists and Junior Students)
- Ensemble size (for ensembles)
- School history
- CV describing academic, professional and other relevant experience
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Documents to be provided
- Written consent (in English) from a parent or legal guardian for candidates under 18 years of age on 1 July 2027
- Portrait photograph (landscape format)
- Passport or ID (one piece of ID per person for groups)
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Your artistic profile
- A short biography (150 words maximum, in English or French)
- Personal introduction video: describe one of your most significant musical experiences. Please introduce yourself in English to the best of your ability. The video should not exceed approximately 3 minutes.
- Your ideal recital: imagine you have carte blanche to give a one-hour recital at Wigmore Hall, or another major recital hall of your choice. What programme would you propose? Indicate the chosen venue and provide the full programme for your recital.
- Audience development experience* (e.g., mediation activities or projects aimed at reaching new audiences for classical music); if you have no experience in this area, please leave this question blank.
* Not required for Junior Students applications.
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Uploads / Audition
- Unedited videos of live performances (see repertoire requirements; a separate video must be uploaded for each requirement).
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Recommendations (optional)
- Contact details for up to two referees, should you wish to request letters of recommendation.
- Application fee payment (credit card only)
Details regarding optional recommendations
As indicated in the list above, candidates may invite up to two people to submit a letter of recommendation in support of their application. These recommendations are entirely optional, and your application will be considered complete even without a letter of recommendation.
To request a recommendation, enter the email address of your chosen referee in your application. GetAcceptd will send them the necessary instructions to submit their letter only after your application has been submitted.
Recommendations provide supplementary information only. The jury’s evaluation is based primarily on the elements you submit yourself, including your audition recordings, CV, education, professional experience, and achievements.
If you wish for a recommendation to be considered, we strongly encourage you to submit your application well before the deadline and to contact the person concerned in advance. The evaluation process begins immediately after the application deadline and we cannot guarantee that recommendations received after this date will be taken into account.
application fee
Soloist candidates aged 16 to 26 and ensembles must pay a non-refundable application fee of 105 EUR. For Junior Students (aged 13 to 15), this fee is 55 EUR. Application fees are payable only by credit card on the getAcceptd platform.
Thanks to the generosity of Festival donors, the application fee is waived for the following candidates:
- Swiss citizens born or residing in the cantons of Geneva, Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais or Vaud.
To benefit from this waiver, please send proof of eligibility (e.g. a copy of your passport or a document certifying your residence in one of the relevant cantons) to the following address: academy@verbierfestival.com.
You must request your exemption code no later than 8 January 2027. No codes will be granted after this date.
costs for successful applicants
Soloists (aged 16 to 26) and Ensembles
Thanks to the generosity of Verbier Festival donors, tuition is entirely free for all students admitted to the Academy. They also benefit from free accommodation in Verbier, daily lunch and tickets to Festival concerts (subject to availability). Return travel costs to Verbier, other meals and personal expenses remain the responsibility of the students.
Special provisions for students aged 16 and 17
Students aged 16 to 17 are normally accommodated in host families or with other Academy students, with written permission from their parents or legal guardians. They may stay with a parent or another designated responsible adult only in exceptional cases, with the prior agreement of the Academy. In this case, the accommodation and financial participation arrangements specified in the “Accommodation for accompanied students” section also apply to them.
Junior Students (aged 13 to 15)
Thanks to the support of Verbier Festival donors, tuition is also free for Junior Students. They benefit from daily lunch (for the student only) and tickets to Festival concerts (for the student and one companion, subject to availability). Travel costs, other meals and personal expenses remain the responsibility of the families.
Junior Students must be accompanied and supervised throughout their stay in Verbier by a parent, a legal guardian, or another responsible adult designated by their parents or legal guardians.
Accommodation for accompanied students
The Academy arranges accommodation for accompanied students and their accompanying persons, giving priority to accommodation provided free of charge and renting apartments when necessary.
The Academy covers 50% of the total cost of the accommodation arranged in this way. The remaining 50% is shared equally among all families benefiting from accommodation arranged by the Academy, whether the accommodation allocated to them is provided free of charge or rented. Each family therefore contributes the same amount.
The amount of this contribution will be communicated to families once the accommodation arrangements have been finalised.
Families who choose to arrange their own accommodation bear the full cost and do not take part in this cost-sharing scheme.
Violoncellists
The Academy contributes 400 CHF towards the travel costs of cellists who fly with their instrument.
refund policy
Application fees are non-refundable under any circumstances.
audition repertoire
Soloists
Candidates must submit the following recordings, in a separate video file for each requirement:
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Piano: one movement from a sonata by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, or Schubert.
Strings: one movement from a work for solo instrument.
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Piano: a short single-movement piece OR one movement from a work for solo piano (candidate’s choice; approx. 7–12 minutes).
Strings: one movement from a sonata with piano OR one movement from a concert piece with piano.
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Piano: one movement from a chamber music work (with other instruments) OR one movement from a concerto with orchestra.*†
Strings: one movement from a chamber music work (other than a duo with piano) OR one movement from a concerto with orchestra.*†
* If the candidate does not have a recent recording with orchestra, a concerto movement with piano accompaniment is accepted. Chamber music recordings are evaluated with the same consideration as concerto recordings.
† Optional for Junior Student candidates.
For each audition video, please indicate the title of the work, the name of the orchestra (if applicable), and the date of the recording in the file name. Each recording must be submitted in a separate video file.
Ensembles
Ensembles must submit the following two recordings, in separate video files:
- One movement from a work from the Classical or early Romantic period.
- One movement from a work of the ensemble’s choice.
audition video
Please read all the following instructions carefully before beginning your application or recording your audition videos:
- For practical advice on making your audition videos (framing, lighting, and recording quality), please refer to the video tutorial offered by Acceptd. The specific requirements of the Verbier Festival Academy, set out below, nevertheless take precedence.
- You must upload a separate video file for each requirement indicated in the Audition repertoire section: three videos for Soloists, two for Ensembles, and two or three for Junior Students (the third being optional).
- Recording dates: videos must reflect your current artistic level. As a general rule, recordings of solo repertoire must be less than 12 months old and concerto recordings less than 24 months old at the time the application is submitted.
- Single-take recording: each musical performance must be recorded continuously, without interruption or assembling multiple takes. Concert videos filmed with multiple cameras are accepted: camera angle changes are permitted, provided the musical performance remains continuous and complete, with no cuts or modification of the audio track.
- Ensure that the image allows the jury to clearly see your playing and instrumental technique. Choose a sufficiently well-lit space and take into account the room’s acoustics as well as the positioning of the camera and microphone. In particular, avoid excessively reverberant spaces.
- The use of artificial reverb or any other audio modification in post-production (editing, splicing, corrections, etc.) is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification.
- Watch and listen to your recordings before submitting them to check image and sound quality and to ensure they faithfully represent your performance.
- Attach your videos to your application by uploading the video files in one of the accepted formats: MP4, MPEG, MPG, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, FLV, WEBM, MKV, or M2V.
- Once your application has been submitted and the application fee paid, you will no longer be able to return to your file to add a video. Please therefore check that all required files have been uploaded before finalising your application.
faq
Q: I will be under 16 or over 26 on 1 July 2027. Can I still apply?
The Academy does not generally accept applications for the Soloists & Ensembles programme that do not meet the stated age criteria. Candidates aged 13 to 15 on 1 July 2027 may apply as Junior Students. Applications from students under 13 are not accepted.
Q: I will be under 13 or over 15 on 1 July 2027. Can I still apply as a Junior Student?
Only musicians aged 13 to 15 on 1 July 2027 may apply as Junior Students. Musicians aged 16 to 26 must apply to the Soloists programme. Applications from students under 13 are not accepted.
Q: The average age of our ensemble will be over 30 on 1 July 2027. Can we still apply?
The Academy does not generally accept applications that do not meet the stated age criteria. The average age of the members of an ensemble must be between 22 and 30 on 1 July 2027.
Q: Is the sound quality of the application videos really important?
Yes. Sound quality is very important for the evaluation of your video audition. Please refer to the Audition Video section above.
Q: Can my CV be written in a language other than English?
Yes. We accept CVs in English, French, German, and Italian.
Q: When and how will I be informed of my audition results?
Candidates will be informed of the results via getAcceptd no later than 5 March 2027. If selected, you must confirm your participation no later than 9 March 2027 at 7 PM (Eastern Standard Time, EST).