Paderewski Festival Youth Piano Competition – Paso Robles, CA
The Board of Directors of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles invites piano teachers in California’s Central Coast counties of San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Barbara to encourage their talented young pianists to submit applications for the Festival’s 2014 Youth Piano Competition.
The competition is open to piano students in two age groups: Juniors (ages 10-14) and Seniors (ages 15-18). All competitors must currently study with an established piano teacher and reside within the counties of San Luis Obispo, Monterey or Santa Barbara. Professional pianists may not apply. The Competition Jury will be headed by pianist and composer Marek Zebrowski, Director of the Polish Music Center USC and Artistic Director of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, along with pianists India D’Avignon and Paul Woodring, both from the Music Department at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Awards will be made at the discretion of the Jury, whose verdict shall be final.
Prizes ranging from $200-$750 will be awarded to the best performers, and winners will be invited to perform during the 2014 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles. All participants in the 2014 auditions will receive a certificate. Selected winners may also apply to travel to Poland in summer of 2015 under the Paderewski Festival Youth Exchange Program, administered and sponsored jointly by the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles and the Province of Tarnów in Poland. This all-expenses-paid program includes piano workshops, master classes and concert performances at Kąśna Dolna, Paderewski’s estate in southern Poland, and at the historic Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
Application deadline for the 2014 Paderewski Festival Youth Competition applications is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014. Rules and entry forms can be found on the Paderewski Festival website: www.paderewskifest.com
Auditions will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014, at Cass Winery, 7350 Linne Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446. The 2014 Youth Competition Winners’ Recital will be held in the Paso Robles Inn Ballroom on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 4 p.m. Admission to this event is free and open to the public.
For questions or additional Paderewski Festival Youth Piano Competition information, please contact Diane Sayre at youth@paderewskifest.com or call 805-712-4215.
CLICK HERE for an online version of the Paderewski Festival Competition Application
National Chopin Piano Competition – Miami, FL
National Chopin Piano Competition applications are now available online. The November 3rd application deadline may seem like a long time from now, but it is actually less than five months away. And when you have this much great Chopin repertoire to prepare, it is really just around the corner.
The National Chopin Piano Competition of the U.S. is designed to offer performance opportunities and financial support for young American pianists and to enable Prize Winners to take part in the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Poland. Initiated in 1975 and held an Miami every five years, the National Competition closely follows the regulations and requirements of the International Chopin Competition. The Competition is open to pianists holding U.S. citizenship (native born or naturalized), born between 1985 and 1999, representing a professional level of performance. Previous First Prize Winners of this Competition are not eligible.
The First Prize in this competition yields the largest cash award of any piano competition in the U.S.—$75,000—and automatic acceptance to the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw as well as concert performances in the United States and abroad.
Application deadline for the 2014 National Chopin Piano Competition is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014
CLICK HERE for an online version of the National Chopin Piano Competition Application
CLICK HERE for Competition rules and requirements
Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition
The 2014 Application for the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition is now available! The Competition is open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States, Polish citizens, and to international full-time students with valid U.S. student visas. Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 26 as of October 24, 2014. Note: the 2014 Competition features updated repertoire requirements. All requirements and application information are available on www.thekf.org.
Prizes for this Competition are $5,000/ $2,500 / $1,500. Preliminaries will be held on Friday, October 24, 2014 at 10 AM and Finals will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 10 AM at the KF House in New York City.
The Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Piano Competition was established in 1949, in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Frederic Chopin. The inauguration took place at the Kosciuszko Foundation House in New York City, with Witold Malcuzynski as a guest artist, and Abram Chasins, composer and music director of the New York Times Radio Station, presiding. Over the years, many outstanding musicians have been associated with the competition including Van Cliburn, Ian Hobson, and Murray Perahia. Today, the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Competition continues to encourage gifted young pianists to further their studies and to perform the works of Polish composers.
Application deadline for the 2014 Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014.
CLICK HERE to download the KF Chopin Competition Application
[Sources: press releases, paderewskifest.com, chopin.org, thekf.org]