Finalists compete in the 2026 Marlin-Engel Solo Competition. Cheer on the competitors and join us for a day full of exceptional student performances.
The Marlin-Engel Solo Competition was established by the Board of Trustees of Levine Music in 1980 to honor Jackie Marlin and Diana Engel, two of the school’s founders and Levine’s co-directors from 1976 to 1980. Originally offering a single “Marlin-Engel prize,” the competition today offers awards in three categories (piano, winds/brass/guitar/harp, and bowed strings) and three age divisions: Junior (up to age 9), Intermediate (ages 10-13), and Senior (ages 14-18). The first-place prize for piano is the Ida Canter Prize, established by Dr. Jane Loeffler and her family as a tribute to her grandmother. Contestants perform two solo works or movements that contrast in style and period.