Asia Pacific Saxophone Competition 2025

The next Asia Pacific Saxophone Competition will be held in the 2025 edition of the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy in July, 2025. The exact dates would be available in December 2024.

The Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy is proud to announce the 4th Asia Pacific Saxophone Competition. The competition will be held from in July 2025 at The Conservatory of Music, Rangsit University, Bangkok, Thailand, as a part of the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy 2025. 

General Information

The competition is open to saxophonists of all nationalities, born after 1 July 1998. The competitor’s birth date must be verified at the competition site with the competitor’s official government document. (See Application Guidelines section).

This competition will have THREE rounds. 

The First round will be held between xxx to xxx July 2025. 

The Second round will be held on xxx - xxx July 2025.

The third (final) round will be held on xxx to xxx July 2025.

The competition is part of the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy 2025. Participation is required in the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy. You have the option of signing up as an active participant or observer and would be required to pay both the competition fee as well as the participation fee. 

For further information, please visit www.apsa-sax.com.

1st Prize: 

10,000 Thai Baht Cash

1 Selmer Supreme Alto Saxophone

Trophy and Certificate

2nd Prize: 

5,000 Thai Baht Cash

Trophy and Certificate

3rd Prize: 

5,000 Thai Baht Cash

Trophy and Certificate 

4th Prize: 

Trophy and Certificate 

5th Prize: 

Trophy and Certificate 

Possible additional prizes may be   

granted before 31st March 2025

Registration method:

· Sign up on the official website: apsa-sax.com. 

· Make Payment.

· Send the following materials via email (info@apsa-sax.com):
-  Payment confirmation

- Passport photo for program book

- Copy of Passport, ID, or driver license

- Curriculum vitae

- Choice of program (for second round)

· Received a confirmation email from the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy official email account. 

Entry Fee: Please refer to Registration Form for fee details

Application deadline is on April 15, 2025, or when capacity has reached 120 competitors, whichever is earlier.

Competitors will be informed of their acceptance into the competition by April 20, 2025. Competitors who do not receive confirmation by May 1, 2025 are advised to contact the organizer through e-mail to info@apsa-sax.com.

Rounds

This competition will have THREE rounds. 

The 1st round is a solo round where you are required to perform 1 compulsory piece. 

The 2nd round consists of: 

1) 1 compulsory piece, and 

2) a free choice of piece for solo saxophone of competitor’s own choice. 

The 3rd round consists of: 

1) A compulsory piece for alto saxophone and string quartet/quintet

-Cuts in solo parts are not permitted. 

-Repeats are left to the discretion of each individual competitor. 

A maximum of 15 participants will be admitted into the second round. The organizing committee reserves the right to allow less than 15 participants to advance to the second round; A maximum of 5 participants will be admitted into the third (final) round. The organizing committee reserves the right to allow less than 5 participants to advance to the third round.

All competitors of the competition who advance to the second round will be assigned a pianist with only ONE permitted rehearsal. Competitors are permitted to bring their own pianist at their own expense; All competitors of the competition who advance to the third (final) round will be assigned a string quartet/quintet with only ONE permitted rehearsal. Competitors are NOT permitted to bring their collaborative musicians for third (final) round. 

 Repertoires of Round 1

Compulsory piece

- Theme and ANY 8 variations of Les Folies d'Espagne from Pièces de Viole, Livre II by Marin Marais

Reference URTEXT (version for viol)

The music is to be played without accompaniment

For this piece only, competitors may choose the number of variations to be played, order of chosen variations, key, articulation and phrasing. The piece may be played on any member of saxophone family. It is not essential to perform with a printed and/or published score.

Repertoires of Round 2 

1. Compulsory piece

TBC (alto saxophone and piano)

2. Own choice piece

Any original music written for solo saxophone within 15 minutes

The total on-stage performance time for second (final) round is 30 minutes, include entering and exiting the stage. 

All competitors of the competition who advance to the second round will be assigned a pianist with only ONE permitted rehearsal. 

Competitors who advance to the second round has the option of using the official pianist. If you choose the official pianist, you will be assigned a pianist for rehearsal after the announcement of the advancement. There will be NO second rehearsal under any circumstances.

Competitors are permitted to bring their own pianist at their own expense.

Repertoires of Round 3 (Final)

Compulsory piece

New work by Vanich Potavanich

for alto saxophone and string quartet/quintet

The total on-stage performance time for third (final) round is 20 minutes, include entering and exiting the stage. 

Competitors who advance to the third (final) round will be assigned a string quartet/quintet for rehearsal after the announcement of the advancement. 

There will be NO second rehearsal under any circumstances.

 

There will be a minimum of 5 judges for each round. There will be a change in judges for the 2 different rounds. The results will be based on an average score of all results collected.  Members of the jury may not judge a competitor in the competition who is a student or former student of theirs. In this context "student" means a competitor who has been a regular student of one of the members of the jury throughout a complete academic year.

During each round, the jury reserves the right to stop any performance exceeding the time limit. Judging will be done based on performances before the bell. There is no penalty should the bell be rung. 

Results will be calculated and in the event of a tied results, the president of the jury of each round will be the deciding vote. All decisions are absolute and there will be no appeals. 

There will be comment sheets written by the juries and will be returned to the eliminated competitor at the end of each round.

Names of the judges will be announced after the registration deadline of the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy 2025.

All travel and accommodation costs are to be at the expense of the competitor. Competitors have the option of staying at the official hotel as part of the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy 2025 when selecting your package to the competition and academy.

All Rounds are open to the public.

Competitors will perform in an order fixed by drawing lots, which will take place on  the evening of July, 2025.  The organizing committee reserves the right to refuse the participation of any competitor absent from the drawing.

Competitors must use original music if not playing from memory. Competitors using photocopies or PDFs downloaded from the Internet may be disqualified. 

Competitors are permitted to use electronic devices for score reading in the performance, but must show proof of owning the original music before performing in front of the jury.

Any competitor who does not show proof of age, or is born on or before July 14, 1998 will be disqualified.

The organizing committee of the competition is authorized to admit competitors to the competition only upon receipt of complete applications. 

All fee and payments are non-refundable, except under extreme circumstances. The organizing committee of the competition remains the right to decide based on each presented case. 

If a competitor is unable, by reason of illness or unforeseeable circumstances, to perform in the competition after he or she has done the drawing of lots, the organizing committee of the competition may consider a refund up to only 50% of the application fee of the competition. 

If a competitor is unable, by reason of illness or unforeseeable circumstances, to be present at the announcement of the results of the first round or the semi‐final, he or she must provide an explanation as soon as possible. In such situations, competitor have to designate someone to represent him or her.

Competitors forfeit all rights to remuneration through broadcast by radio, television or other media formats.

All communications will be sent via the official email (info@apsa-sax.com). Any information from other sources is not valid without an official email notification or response.

Results will be announced at the opening gala concert and closing concert for the respective rounds.

English is the only official language. In the case of unclear information, decisions will be made based on English version.