Piano Concerto Competition 2011
Though memories of last year’s competition made it a bit harder to focus this year which affected mostly my capabilities as chairperson of this event (in the sense that I had trouble managing it all, thus asked for help from colleagues), it all went pretty well.
The judge this year was unusually strict, at least with the first two categories, and really seemed to share the following philosophy (by Dylan Evans in The Guardian, Thursday 21 July 2005):
The just allocation of admiration is a virtue that requires judgment and integrity: judgment to distinguish genuine talent from mere showiness, and integrity in refusing to bestow praise on those who do not fully deserve it. Prizes are only valuable if they are restricted to the very few.
Not winning a prize is not something to be seen as shameful – it should be the norm, something that happens to the overwhelming majority of people.
Here then are the results:
Grades 1 – 3
1st Place Sumin (Peskanov Concerto No 1, 2nd mvt)
2nd Place Rachael (Haydn Concertino, 2nd mvt)
Honorable Mention Hasun (Rollin Concerto in C, 1st mvt)
Honorable Mention Ava (Mier Concerto in Classical Style, 3rd mvt)
Grades 4 – 6
1st Place Barry (student of Slawomir Dobrzanski), Mozart Concerto in A, 1st mvt
2nd Place Youna (Haydn Concerto in C, 3rd mvt)
Honorable Mention Kyle (Rollin Concerto in C, 3rd mvt)
Grades 7 – 9
1st Place Natalie (student of Joyce Nelson), Olson Celebration! 1st mvt
2nd Place Savanna (student of Joyce Nelson), Kasschau Country Concerto 1st mvt
Honorable Mention Andrea (student of Nancy Blockcolsky), Thompson Concerto Americana 1st mvt
Grades 10 – 12
1st Place Taylor (Vandall Concerto in G, 3rd mvt)
Honorable Mention Christian (student of Nancy Blockcolsky), Rocherolle Blues Concerto