Over the past decade, WPMA students have won 1,000+ All-State and top youth orchestra seats, 100+ concertmaster, principal, assistant principal seats, and one pattern that we have noticed at every level of playing is that students learn fastest when they are working towards a goal.
Below is a list of seventeen (17) ensembles, competitions, summer programs, and more that WPMA students have prepared for, auditioned for, and won over the past twelve years. These include state-wide, regional, and national auditions & competitions.
No student pursues all of these, and none of them is required. Not all of these goals will apply to every instrument. The right goal also depends on your child’s age, instrument, and stage — which is a conversation to have with their teacher.
However, if music is your child’s primary extracurricular, or if they are serious about learning their instrument at the highest level they can, they should strongly consider aiming for a handful of the below auditions and working with their private lesson teacher to prepare. “What do we need to do to make sure that James is ready to audition for All-State by 6th grade?”
Honor ensembles and youth orchestras
Georgia All-State Ensembles (grades 6–12)
Every fall, thousands of students across Georgia audition through the Georgia Music Educators Association for the All-State bands and orchestras, which rehearse and perform together each spring. It’s the broadest measuring stick in the state — and for many students, their first taste of playing in a serious large ensemble. WPMA students earned 91 All-State seats in 2026.
Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra (grades 8–12)
The ASYO is the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s own training orchestra: students rehearse under ASO direction and perform in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center in downtown Atlanta. Seats are earned through competitive auditions each spring. Nineteen WPMA students won ASYO seats for the 2026–27 season.
Emory Youth Symphony Orchestras (grades 9–12)
The Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Emory Youth Chamber Orchestra rehearse at Emory’s Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts and perform three concerts a season in Emerson Concert Hall, with sectional coaching from Emory’s Vega Quartet and Atlanta Symphony Artist Affiliates. Acceptance is decided in a single August audition. Twenty-one WPMA students hold seats for 2026–27.
Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony (grades 9–12)
For advanced wind, brass, and percussion players, the AYWS is metro Atlanta’s premier audition-based honor band. It offers the same thing the youth orchestras give string players: demanding repertoire, serious peers, and a conductor who expects professional habits.
Competitions
GMTA Auditions & Competitions (grades 2–12)
The Georgia Music Teachers Association’s district and state auditions are often a student’s first competitive milestone — open as early as second grade, with repertoire requirements that grow with the student. Advancing from district to state teaches young musicians how to prepare a program to a deadline. In 2026, 34 WPMA students earned 54 top honors — nearly 1 in 6 awards given statewide.
American Protégé Music Competitions (all ages)
This international competition series is judged by recorded submission, with categories for every age and instrument — and winners are invited to perform at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. For a young student, it’s a realistic first national credential and, for many, a first time on a New York stage.
Samuel Fordis Young Artists Concerto Competition (ages 10–18)
Hosted annually by the Georgia Philharmonic, the Fordis competition awards its winners something rare: a full concerto movement performance as soloist with the Georgia Philharmonic, on stage.
DeKalb Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Concerto Competition (grades 9–12)
The DSO’s annual competition selects a high-school soloist to make their orchestral debut in concert with the DeKalb Symphony.
Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition (grades 6–12)
Atlanta’s Franklin Pond is an annual chamber music competition where invited chamber ensembles perform on-stage at Spivey Hall at Clayton State University. Proper instrumentation, repertoire selection, preparation, and coaching is important to being competitive and is not typically covered in private lessons, which is why many serious academy students receive chamber coachings, seminars, and masterclasses in WPMA’s Chamber Music Program.
Panama City Symphony Emerging Artists Competition (grades 9–12)
The Panama City Symphony’s competition brings high-school soloists to the orchestra’s Florida stage, and it draws strong entrants from across the Southeast.
Summer programs
Atlanta Festival Academy Summer Festival (grades 6–12)
AFA’s summer festival concentrates a season’s worth of growth into a few weeks: daily lessons, chamber music, masterclasses, and performance. It’s the summer home of many WPMA students and faculty, and a natural first summer-intensive experience close to home.
Sphinx Performance Academy (ages 11–17)
The Sphinx Organization’s full-scholarship summer intensive for Black and Latinx string players is hosted on the campuses of leading conservatories, pairing solo and chamber study with mentorship from professional artists. For eligible students, it’s one of the country’s most valuable summer opportunities — both musically and as a credential.
Governor’s Honors Program (grades 10–11)
Georgia’s GHP is a free, four-week summer residential program for the state’s most talented students, entered through school nomination and statewide interviews and auditions. Selection in music is a distinction that colleges across the country recognize. Four WPMA students were selected in 2026.
NYO2 (ages 14–16)
Carnegie Hall’s national youth orchestra for younger players brings roughly 90 musicians to a training residency at Purchase College, SUNY, capped by a performance in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and a tour. WPMA violist Fisher Yu was named co-principal viola of the 2026 orchestra.
NYO-USA (ages 16–19)
The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America is the summit of the youth-orchestra world: a national audition, a residency with coaches from major American orchestras, a Carnegie Hall concert, and an international tour — free to every selected musician. WPMA violinist Didi Stone won the Concertmaster seat in 2024, and cellist Ethan Goh was one of just 10 cellists chosen nationwide in 2026.
The college track
College Application Supplements (grade 12)
Universities outside the conservatory world welcome arts supplements — recorded repertoire, a music résumé, and a recommendation from a private teacher. For a student not planning to major in music, a strong supplement still tells admissions offices something no transcript can: years of discipline, pursued to a high standard. A poor supplement can hurt your application more than it helps, however, so it’s important to prepare it well and with the guidance of your teacher.
Music Conservatory Auditions (grade 12)
For students aiming at Juilliard, NEC, Peabody, etc. and their peers, junior and senior year runs on the conservatory calendar: prescreening recordings due in the Fall/Winter, live auditions January through March, repertoire chosen with their teacher a year or more in advance. WPMA students have taken this path to a number of the country’s top conservatories — and planning for it properly begins well before grade 12.
Choosing a goal
Prepare one goal at a time, while keeping the others in mind. Our faculty have extensive experience preparing students for auditions, but preparation takes time, thoughtfulness, and dedicated practice. Your student’s teacher will know which target fits a student’s current stage and which repertoire serves it. A second grader’s GMTA audition and a senior’s prescreen recording are the same idea at different scales: a date on the calendar that makes every practice session pointed and purposeful.
About William Pu Music Academy
The William Pu Music Academy is a private, award-winning, conservatory-style music academy in Atlanta. WPMA offers music education programming taught by the finest musicians and pedagogues in all of Georgia. In addition to taking 1-on-1 instrument lessons with highly-trained faculty, students at WPMA study music theory & sight-reading, participate in monthly recitals, studio classes, masterclasses with guest artists, and perform in chamber and orchestra ensembles. Academy students receive a rich and comprehensive music education, supported by a dedicated faculty. In this environment distinguished by its community and learning opportunities, WPMA students frequently compete and succeed in state and nation-wide auditions. Learn more about WPMA and previous student achievements at wpmusicacademy.com.
