Deadline of Jan. 13 Set for High School Pianists to Apply to Compete
LA PLATA, MD. (October 5, 2011)—Expanded opportunities for high school pianists to be recognized for their talents will be available during the fourth annual Southern Maryland Piano Competition to be held April 28 and 29, 2012 at the College of Southern Maryland’s Prince Frederick Campus.
The high-level juried competition is open to any high school student within the region as an opportunity to promote piano performance and reward and encourage young pianists within Southern Maryland.
This year’s competition will include expanded opportunities to recognize pianists by awarding a grand prize as well as awards for best performances of a Baroque or Classical work as well as of a Romantic or Contemporary work, both at the freshman/sophomore level and the junior/senior level for both categories.
Committee chair and CSM Professor Dr. Stephen Johnson said the competition is an opportunity for talented, young artists within Southern Maryland to showcase their level of musical expression and technical excellence as they perform on the college’s “magnificent, handcrafted Bösendorfer.”
“By having four categories in addition to the Grand Prize based on age group and historical styles, younger pianists as well as their older, more accomplished peers will be able to experience the benefits of the competition. We think it will encourage younger high school performers to audition,” Johnson said.
Deadline for applications for CSM’s and ArtLinks Southern Maryland Piano Competition is Jan. 13, 2012. The auditions will be on Saturday, April 28 on the piano, which is the centerpiece of the college’s Ward Virts Concert Series and located at the Prince Frederick Campus. The piano was given to the community by the Ward Virts Piano Project Group as a tribute to the late Ward Virts, a talented concert trained pianist from the region and who died in 1993.
The Sunday performance on April 29 will feature the competition winners. The finalists will also be presented with certificates and cash awards.
Applications as well as the competition rules are available at http://www.csmd.edu/SoMdPianoCompetition/.