Carnegie Hall Ensemble Connect 2027–29: $37,600 Fellowship, Woodwind, Brass, Strings and Piano
Carnegie Hall has opened recruitment for its 2027–2029 Ensemble Connect fellowship, a two-year programme combining professional chamber-music performance, public-school education, community engagement and music-business development in New York. Instrumentalists may apply until 1 December 2026 at 11:59 p.m. New York time. The fellowship carries a published stipend of US$37,600, healthcare and access to rehearsal facilities. The programme is professionally oriented and should not be confused with a fee-based holiday course or a youth orchestra competition.
Eligible instruments and professional qualifications
Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and percussion.
Piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass.
Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree or equivalent by 1 September 2027; postgraduate training is preferred.
Fellows cannot remain enrolled in a degree course with active coursework during the appointment.
International applicants additionally need prior study or teaching at an American educational institution, festival, fellowship or equivalent, and good spoken and written English.
Application and blind recorded screening
The official Acceptd application includes a musical résumé, two reference contacts, short-answer responses on artistic goals and audience connection, plus unedited audio recordings. The preliminary jury listens blind, so avoid putting identifying information in the audio. Entrants should use the instrument-specific recording repertoire published by Carnegie Hall, not generic concerto competition repertoire. The application fee is US$75; candidates who need support may ask info@ensembleconnect.org for a fee waiver.
2027 schedule
3 August 2026: applications opened.
1 December 2026, 23:59 New York local time: application closes.
Early February 2027: blind-recording prescreen results.
6–13 March 2027: in-person New York auditions, including solo performance, chamber music and interview.
April–May 2027: decisions issued.
September 2027: two-year fellowship begins.
What the $37,600 represents
Carnegie Hall's programme description gives a stipend of $37,600, reflecting roughly 20 hours weekly over 40 weeks, mid-September to mid-June, for each of two successive seasons. It also includes health benefits and public transportation allowance assumptions. The figure is a fellowship stipend, not a competition grand prize, and is not a promise of $37,600 each month. Fellowships include teaching activity in New York public schools and performance at Carnegie Hall, Juilliard and regional partner venues.
International visas, travel and organiser record
Carnegie Hall requires international candidates to review its separate visa rules and satisfy the prior-US-study/teaching criterion. Completing the online form does not guarantee a visa. Limited live-audition travel assistance exists for qualifying candidates but cannot be assumed by everyone. Ensemble Connect is run by Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School in partnership with the New York City public school system; the organiser publishes previous fellows and public concert recordings.
First-party application sources
Carnegie Hall 2027–29 application rules, $75 fee and eligibility: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Ensemble-Connect/Apply/Application-Information
Carnegie Hall fellowship programme, stipend and teaching activities: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Ensemble-Connect/Apply/About-the-Fellowship
Checked 24 October 2026. International applicants face special US experience and immigration requirements; deadline 1 December 2026.