FLINT, MI -- Vocalists from around the world will come to Flint in March to compete for their piece of more than $11,000 in prize money and a chance to perform with the Flint Symphony Orchestra.

On Saturday, March 1, the Flint Institute of Music and the St. Cecilia Society will host the 43rd annual William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition. The winner will receive $6,000 and the opportunity to perform with the Flint Symphony Orchestra, while second prize wins $2,500. The last three finalists will each be awarded $1,000.

This year's contestants are competing in voice. The competition has four categories: voice, piano, strings, and wind and brass, switching categories every year. Each contestant is 34 years old or younger.

Live auditions will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with singers who applied by sending in CDs and got letters of recommendation. The preliminary judges will select five competitors to compete in the evening finals.

There will be a dinner before the finals at 5 p.m. in the Atrium at the Flint Institute of Music, open to the public at a cost for $20 per person. Reservations must be made by Saturday, Feb. 22. Checks should be made payable to the St. Cecilia Society and mailed to Mrs. Max Dean at 2566 Nolen Dr., Flint, MI 48504.

The finals begin at 7 p.m. in the MacArthur Recital Hall. There, the first and second place winners will be named; the other three finalists will not be ranked.

The William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition attracts musicians from around the world, many of whom are studying at prestigious schools of music. Carol Hinterman, chairman of the competition, said earlier that last year's competition included applicants from China (Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai) and Costa Rica, while previous applicants have hailed from the Union of South Africa, Egypt and more.

This year's field of contestants include a Russian studying in France, another Russian, a Korean, and a contestant from Chengdu, China. Hinterman said there were 25 applications, which is less than usual; she attributes the lower amount to the the winter storms that hit the East Coast and the Midwest to start the year.

The competition is completely run by volunteers, and since St. Cecilia's took over the competition, contestants are offered free meals and housing with area families.

Katherine Weintraub, a Florida native who studied at University of Michigan, won the grand prize in last year's competition for her performance of Villa Lobos's "Fantasia" on the soprano saxophone. Daniel Velasco, a University of Michigan student flutist from Quito, Ecuador, won second place with his performance of Concerto for Flute by Lieberman.

The other three finalists were Bowling Green University doctoral student Noa Even, University of Missouri-Kansas City student Amanda Hudnall, and Jonathan Wintringham, a graduate teaching assistant and masters of music student at Eastman.

William C. Byrd was the director of Flint Institute of Music and conductor of the Flint Symphony Orchestra from 1966 until his death in 1974. He died of a heart attack while conducting a pops concert in Wilson Park on a hot summer evening.

Byrd "had a dream of bringing some of the world's finest young talent to Flint, with the intent of showcasing virtually unknown rising young artists with the Flint Symphony Orchestra," according to the competition's web site.

The event was named "The Young Artist Competition" while Byrd was alive, but was renamed after he died to reflect his influence on the program.