Gheorghe Dima International Competition

The portrait of Gheorghe Dima’s personality has been captured through the activities that defined his life: composition and conducting. Over three decades ago, the Dima Competition was launched by Prof. Dr. Ninuca Oșanu-Pop, under the title of the “Gheorghe Dima” Festival and Competition for Musical Creation and Performance, in partnership with the College of Music Critics. The first edition took place from December 6-8, 1984, featuring a musical composition competition dedicated to choral, chamber, and orchestral works.

Subsequent editions introduced a new element to the competition by adding choral conducting and musical performance categories. Both in the musical composition section and the performance section, the instruments were varied with each edition to broaden the compositional spectrum and support young musicians. Notable laureates of the early editions include the Transilvan Quartet, tenor Marius Vlad Budoiu, musicologist Valentina Sandu-Dediu, and composer Dan Dediu.

After a 15-year hiatus, the editions following 2011 brought the event back as one of the most important wind instrument performance competitions, enjoying significant international participation.

The 17th edition in 2018 reintroduced the Choral Conducting section, organized by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihaela Cesa-Goje, successfully bringing together young conductors from prestigious institutions worldwide. The organization of the choral conducting competition provides a valuable opportunity for young talents in Romania, as it is currently the only competition of its kind in the country.

The competition will be held biennially, alternating between conducting, composition, and musicology sections.