January 28, 2026 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Barbash, Competition Coordinator
516-639-8575 info@jsbachcompetition.org
Submissions to the 2026 Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition will be accepted beginning March 1, 2026.
Grand Prize: $10,000 and five paid performance engagements
Second Place: $2,500
Submission deadline: June 14, 2026
Finalists Announced: July 30, 2026
Competition Finals will be held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center Recital Hall at 1:00 pm on Thursday, October 15, 2026, and will be live-streamed by The Violin Channel.
The competition is for string players ages 16-30, performing works (Partitas, Sonatas, Suites) by J.S. Bach for unaccompanied, bowed string instruments. Modern and baroque instruments are eligible.
Performance Engagements: The Grand Prize Winner will also be offered paid engagements with the following presenters on dates to be determined by mutual agreement:
Washington Bach Consort The Grand Prize Winner will be engaged to perform a concert at a fee, date, and venue TBA. An archived video of the concert will be made available to the performer for their personal use. Founded in 1977 by the late J. Reilly Lewis, the Washington D.C.-based Washington Bach Consort presents three concurrent music series each season. With the music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries firmly at the core, the group also performs music from the Renaissance to Classical periods.
The Bach Choir of Bethlehem The Grand Prize Winner will be engaged to perform a concert at a fee, date, and venue TBA. The Pennsylvania-based Bach Choir of Bethlehem shares the transformative power of the music of J.S. Bach and other composers through excellence in performance and education to build, strengthen, and sustain diverse communities, and to foster a life-long passion for the choral arts.
GEMS (Gotham Early Music Scene) The Grand Prize Winner will be engaged to perform a concert presented by NYC-based GEMS at a fee, date, and venue TBA. Please note: GEMS requires that the artist perform on a period instrument. This concert will be live-streamed. The archived video of the stream will be made available to the performers for their personal use.
Amor Artis (40-voice chamber choir and baroque orchestra) The Grand Prize Winner will be engaged to perform on its annual all-Bach concert at a fee, date, and venue TBA. The winner will perform a work by J. S. Bach (solo concerto or unaccompanied work) selected in consultation with the Artistic Director.
Island Symphony Orchestra The Grand Prize Winner will be the featured soloist at the annual Island Symphony Bach Festival which will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, January 24, 2028, at St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Bay Shore, New York. (Snow Date: Sunday, January 31, 2028) The winner’s repertoire for this concert will include an unaccompanied work by J.S. Bach. In the event the Grand Prize Winner is unable to perform at the Island Symphony Bach Festival, the Second Place Winner will be given the opportunity to perform at this event. Performance Fee: $1,000.
Accommodations: Finalists are required to arrive on the Stony Brook campus on Wednesday October 14, 2026. Hotel accommodations will be provided on October 14 and 15 at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is located on Stony Brook’s campus within walking distance of the recital hall.
The Competition does not provide any stipend for travel expenses.
International applicants must consult the nearest United States Embassy or Consulate for guidance regarding visa requirements. Applicants must have a valid visa at the time of application. Applicants are required to secure their own visas for both the Competition, and, if they are the Grand Prize Winner, the subsequent performances.
PLEASE NOTE THAT VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FINALS AND THE PERFORMANCES ARE DIFFERENT. Upon receipt of the application, the Competition will provide an invitation to the United States to compete, subject to applicant’s reaching the Finals. The applicant will be responsible for informing the Competition of other documents they will need from the Competition for any visa applications in a timely manner.
2026 JURY
Julie Andrijeski, violin: Senior Instructor, Department of Music, College of Arts and Sciences, Head of Historical Performance Practice, Department of Music, College of Arts and Sciences, Case Western Reserve
Colin Carr, cello: Professor of Music, Cello, & Chamber Music, Stony Brook University
Nicholas Cords, viola: Department of Strings, Community Engagement and Professional Studies, New England Conservatory; Co-Artistic Director of Silkroad, Emeritus; founding member of Brooklyn Rider
Arthur Haas, harpsichord: Professor of Harpsichord, Early Music Performance & Continuo, Stony Brook University
Hye-Jin Kim, violin: Associate Professor of Violin at East Carolina University; Taos School of Music, member of the Cooperstown Quartet
TIMELINE:
APPLICATION POSTED ON COMPETITION WEBSITE: February 1, 2026
APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED BEGINNING March 1, 2026 ($50 submission fee)
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MIDNIGHT, JUNE 14, 2026
SUBMISSION FORM AND REQUIREMENTS: https://jsbachcompetition.org/apply
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED: JULY 30, 2026
FINALS: 1:00 PM THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2026