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"The Hunger Games of Classical Music"

Julian Gargiulo with Rachel Siu - Winner of the 5th Getting to Carnegie Competition in 2019 Cello Edition (photo: Tina Ravitz)

The World's biggest stage
(formerly known as getting to Carnegie)  

Almost nine years ago, Steinway Artist Julian Gargiulo decided to try an experiment: he invited musicians from top International Conservatories worldwide to compete for a place on stage with him at Carnegie Hall. His invitation was open to all students. The rules of the game were simple: all contestants would record and send a video of themselves performing. The four chosen finalists would join him on stage and each perform a movement of his newly composed work. The audience would vote live for the winner, and the winner, aside from performing at Carnegie Hall, would travel with Julian and a team of internationally acclaimed musicians to perform at the Water Island Music Festival. After six years of sold-out events, due to the global pandemic in 2021, the final round was generously sponsored by the Alphadyne Foundation and streamed 'live' on The Violin Channel for its 500,000 member following, making it 'virtually' the largest concert hall in the world.  This year’s event will be streamed “live”, once again thanks to the amazing generosity of The Violin Channel. The finalists will be premiering Julian's newly composed Violin Sonata. Let the games begin!

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