March 26-27, 2010
Applications Now Being Accepted
2009 Festival Results | Pictures | Events
The 2010 festival will be held on
March 26-27 (Friday & Saturday), 2010 with a "kick-off"
program on Thursday evening, March 25th at 7:30 P.M.
Mesa
State College
Department of Music
Moss Performing Arts Center
1100 North Avenue*
Grand Junction,
Colorado 81501
* Although North Avenue is the mailing address of the Moss Peforming Arts Center, it is actually located at the corner of 12th St. and Bunting Ave. at 1221 N. 12th St.
Eligibility:
Pianists up to age 19 as of 3/25/10 from anywhere in the world.
Applications:
Auditions and recordings are not necessary. Enrollment is open but limited to 20; priority is given to earlier applicants. See application page.
Repertory and Attendance Requirements :
Students play up to 15 minutes of repertory (any style, for one or two pianos). After students perform, they will receive about 10 to 20 minutes of constructive verbal feedback from the judges. All students will also receive written comments.
To qualify for First Prizes, all
students must attend the Saturday evening Winners Recital and one or
both of the two preceding evening
concerts.
IMPORTANT NEW REQUIREMENT: In addition, all students must attend a minimum of 3 adjudications (in addition to their own).
All adjudications are open to the general public. There will be a nominal fee of $5 per adjudication session (excluding contestants' own adjudications).
Alternatively, a flat $20 fee will entitle any individual to attend every adjudication session throughout the festival - or a flat $25 fee will entitle all members of the same family to attend every adjudication.
Fees are payable in advance or at the door and will be waived for festival volunteers (e.g., those who help by being door monitors, taking festival pictures, providing refreshments, etc.).
Students who cannot meet all attendance requirements may, at the
discretion of the Director, qualify for honorable mention prizes.
Contact Dr. Houle.
This festival is the only competition of its
kind in the world, combining both classical and jazz idioms in a
constructive educational setting. Students compete for standard
baroque through contemporary repertory prizes, as well as for
novel prizes that promote neglected but important creative skills
and repertory -- e.g., original concerto cadenzas & classical
embellishing/improvisation (skills demonstrated by nearly all
great composers yet all but forgotten today), versatility (needed
to survive in today's competitive market), lyricism (usually
overshadowed by "loud and fast" playing), original compositions
(few venues exist for young serious composers), works by female
composers, tasteful arrangements/transcriptions (often disallowed
in other venues), etc.
We seek to foster diverse and well-rounded musicianship that goes
beyond the "autonomic wizardry" that is often overemphasized in other
competitions. Above all, pianists are urged to develop and
showcase their unique talents and perform with individuality,
personality, exuberance, originality and spontaneity.
The festival has been cited on NPR, in a major article in the
April 2003 issue of Clavier, and in
other music publications such as Piano & Keyboard, Piano Today, and the
London-based Piano magazine. Most recently the
festival was profiled in the March 2009 issue of Grand Valley Magazine.
Sponsors have included many piano dealerships at the local and
corporate level. Please patronize our generous sponsors.
Participants:
Up to 20 students.
Judges/clinicians:
Our world-class judges are generally experts in
both classical and jazz/pop styles as well as all forms of
improvisation. This combination of skills is rare; furthermore,
judges are chosen for their ability to work well with young
people and provide useful, learned and positive feedback, both
verbally and in writing.
Featured adjudicator: John Salmon.
We are pleased to announce that two other
distinguished judges will join Dr. Salmon for the 2010 festival:
Arthur Johnson and
Monte Atkinson.
Donations:
We need and appreciate your generous
support!
Donations have tax benefits, and are payable to Mesa
State College Music Department.
IMPORTANT: Please indicate "piano festival" in the memo portion
of checks.
Mailing address for donations:
Dr. Calvin Hofer
Chair, Department
of Music
Mesa State College Moss
Performing Arts Center
1100 North Avenue
Grand Junction, CO
81501
Telephone: 970.248.1163