In 2011 the Manchester International Concerto Competition will be presented in a new format. Anyone aged under 23 on 1 August 2011 is eligible to enter, provided they enrol as a participant on the Chetham’s Summer School. Instead of requiring DVD performances for round one, all accepted participants will be heard in live auditions. Instead of two separate categories, there will be one single competition, though there are special prizes for participants under the age of 17.

Manchester Camerata will once again accompany the finalists in this year's competition. Stephen Threlfall makes a welome return as the conductor of both the final concerts.

Manchester Camerata has been presenting live music for thirty-five years and has established an enviable reputation as an orchestra which delivers high quality concerts in a refreshingly relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

This new competition was successfully launched in 2007 and offers young pianists the rare and exciting opportunity to perform a concerto with an outstanding professional orchestra. It is unusual too in that every member of the jury is a well established concert pianist.

In this respect it looks back to an earlier era of musical history, when the majority of jurors in piano competitions were players rather than teachers or critics. But the emphasis of the competition is forward looking, emphasising the positive for every young pianist who chooses to enter what promises to be an outstanding international event.