It was established by the José Iturbi Foundation in 2007 and takes place at the University of California Los Angeles.
The competition is open to pianists and singers of all nationalities between the ages of 17 and 35.
The competition's co-founder, Donelle Dadidgan, is the founder of the Hollywood Museum and the goddaughter of José Iturbi.
The competition has separate judges for the piano and voice sections.
The following were the judges for the 2010 competition:[3] Concert pianists Daniel Pollack (Chairman) and Ilana Vered, conductors Jorge Mester and Lalo Schifrin, and Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed Former Director of Columbia Artists Management vocal division Matthew Epstein (Chairman) and opera singers David Daniels, Marilyn Horne, Carol Vaness, and Peter Kazaras