💙 Our Goal:
We are pleased to announce the fourth Do Re Mi International Music Competition! Open only to Do Re Mi tutors, our aim is to recognize students for their outstanding musical abilities and provide valuable feedback to all applicants.
🎼 How to Apply:
Please read the following information on competition eligibility and submission requirements.
DEADLINE
DIVISIONS
ELIGIBILITY
NO APPLICATION FEE
REPERTOIRE & REQUIREMENTS
AWARDS
There will be a Grand Prize, 2nd Prize, and 3rd Prize winner chosen from each division. Judges are reserved the right to judge against an objective standard rather than against the competitors. The number of winners may be modified depending on the number of entries.
RESULTS
QUESTIONS
- Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
DIVISIONS
- Strings
- Winds, Brass, Percussion, Harp
- Piano
- Voice
ELIGIBILITY
- You must be registered as a tutor for the Do Re Mi Project.
- You must be between the ages of 13-18 and enrolled in high school.
- You must have tutored for at least 2 hours (~4 lessons) by the application deadline.
NO APPLICATION FEE
- There is NO application fee for entering this competition.
REPERTOIRE & REQUIREMENTS
- Repertoire may be from any musical time period and style.
- For singers, the time limit for the video submission is 5 minutes. For other categories, the time limit for the video submission is 8 minutes. Videos that run overtime may be subject to disqualification.
- You may submit multiple pieces/songs as long as they are under the time limit and compiled into one video.
- Videos do not need to be professional and must be taken in one take without any audio/video editing, except transitioning between pieces.
- Your face, hands, feet with pedals as well as instrument, must be visible for the entirety of the video.
- Videos must be uploaded to YouTube and submitted as a single “unlisted” link.
- Memorization is not required.
- If applicable, accompaniment is encouraged but not required.
AWARDS
There will be a Grand Prize, 2nd Prize, and 3rd Prize winner chosen from each division. Judges are reserved the right to judge against an objective standard rather than against the competitors. The number of winners may be modified depending on the number of entries.
- Grand Prize: $100
- 2nd Prize: $50
- 3rd Prize: $25
RESULTS
- Results will be announced no later than early June.
- Individual feedback will be sent out shortly after.
QUESTIONS
- Email Lucia Noto, Vice President of Events at [email protected].
🧑⚖️ Judges
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Katrina Bobbs SavitskiSTRINGS
Katrina Bobbs Savitski grew up in a musical family where she began studying piano and violin at age four. She received her Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Kathleen Winkler, and now performs regularly as a recitalist and substitute violinist for the Houston Symphony. As a performer, Katrina has won top awards in international competitions across the country, and has soloed with over thirty orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, New West Symphony, and Calgary Symphony. A native of Los Angeles, Katrina began studying piano with her mother Catherine Bobbs and violin with Gail Mellert. At age 15, she and her family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, so she could attend the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) as a student of Paul Kantor. She received her Young Artist and Bachelor degrees with Academic Honors from CIM.
Katrina fell in love with teaching music as a teenager and has worked with hundreds of pre-college music students at programs across the United States. Following her graduation from Rice, she founded and directed the Music Ensemble Program, a chamber music program for pre-college students in Houston. Additionally, she has coached for the Rice Preparatory Program, Houston Youth Symphony, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), and currently teaches a private studio of highly dedicated pre-college violinists. When she is not teaching or performing, Katrina enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and laughing with her sweet pianist husband Sergei and their three super fun children Eliana, Kira, and Micah. |
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Aya Higuchi HagelthornPIANO
Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn serves as the Director of Collegiate Class Piano and Coordinator of the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program at the University of Michigan. She also contributes her expertise as a member of the College of Examiners at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Hagelthorn’s musical journey has taken her to Japan, Italy, Prague, and the United States, where her solo and collaborative performances have been warmly embraced. Beyond performing, she is an active researcher in piano pedagogy, presenting her findings at various local and national conferences. In her teaching, Hagelthorn focuses on solving technical problems and bringing expressive insight from both theoretical and historical perspectives. She is also adept at integrating technology into her organizational roles, enhancing the effectiveness of her educational programs. Her recordings of Chopin’s piano compositions have been featured in films, documentaries, and educational productions, and can be found on MuseOpen.org and IMSLP.org. Hagelthorn holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano with a minor in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan. Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn’s multifaceted career as an educator, performer, and researcher highlights her dedication to advancing the field of piano pedagogy. |
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Rachel BrakeWINDS/BRASS/CONCUSSION
Rachel Brake is a music educator, conductor, arts administrator, and performer based in Boston, MA. Her teaching career has spanned from pre-K at Arlington Public Schools to higher education at the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. In 2023, she served as a guest instructor for instrumental conducting studios at NEC and she continues to teach private conducting lessons to Harvard University students. Additionally, she works for both the NEC Preparatory School and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra as a substitute conductor for large ensembles and coach for woodwinds and brass.
At Harvard University, Brake works as a woodwinds, brass, and percussion coach, assistant conductor and music administrator, and music librarian for the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. She loves working with students of any age and ability to foster their passion for music. Her ability to build onto individuals’ strengths and offer insightful, actionable, and concise feedback motivates students to create excellent music in collaborative and independent settings. Brake spends her summers as assistant conductor and French horn performer at the Adirondack Performing Arts Festival. She looks forward to the wide variety of musical experiences there along with spending more time with her family, playing with her young nephew and nieces, and reading in the sunshine by the mountains and lake. |
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Susanne MentzerVOICE
American mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer has established herself not only as an international singer but also as a writer, teacher and arts advocate. Her stellar singing career encompasses 42 years in nearly every major opera company, orchestra and recital organization. In 2016 she joined the faculty of SFCM after 12 years in academia as a Tenured Professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and Associate Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. She teaches this summer at the TaosOpera Institute and the Napa Festival. As a recitalist, Susanne has appeared on the Great Performers series at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel halls, Kennedy Center, Spivey Hall Atlanta, Schwartz Hall at Emory, Santa Fe Concert Association, Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Ann Arbor University Music Society, and more.
She received her Bachelor and Master degrees from The Juilliard School and was trained in the Houston Opera Studio, studying with Rose Bampton and Norma Newton, respectively. Her outspokenness about vocal health has earned her the VERA Award 2013 (Voice Education Research Awareness) from The Voice Foundation. She received the Alexian Brothers USA Thelan Award for her help raising over one-million dollars through gala concerts for the AIDS cause in Chicago and continues to participate in charitable events. Susanne is also a writer and contributed regularly to the Huffington Post where her essays are still accessible. |
💙 How is this Competition Possible?
Many thanks to our generous parent donors for continuing their support of Do Re Mi's International Music Competition. To make a tax-deductible donation, visit our GoFundMe.