Blount-Slawson Competition 2010

This past weekend from 1/30-1/31, the Blount-Slawson competition was held at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL. My son participated for the first time. This was a really tough competition. Knowing that, he just wanted to try.

We drove there leaving the snow storm behind. It was raining the whole time and continued on the next day.

Friday, all participants had a chance to rehearse with their assigned pianists or their own pianists. You get one forty-minute session with them. Because of limited room availability, you have to practice at a hotel room for the rest of the evening unless you are a pianist.

The next morning is the preliminary audition. It starts as early as 8:00am, I heard. My son's audition time was a little past 10:00am. He got to warm up with the pianist again for another forty minutes before his actual audition.

They divide the participants into three groups. One all pianists and remaining two groups for other instrumentalists and the top three from each group advance to the finals.

Three groups audition in the separate halls. I'm not quite sure, but I think each participant is assigned to a particular room according to their instrument for the judges are staying in one room the whole time. So most likely the judges who are specialized in string instruments would judge string players. This is my own speculation, though.

Anyway, the level of the participants were very high. Many traveled from far. Some drove from Chicago, some flew in and many from local areas.

The results were written on the black board in the hospitality room around 5:00pm. This year there were four pianists chosen as finalists instead of three. It must have been very tight competition.

We didn't stay for the finals due to other commitment awaiting us next week, but you can read the article to find out who won the competition this year.

It was intimidating at first for we've never entered competition this big, but the people who volunteered there were all nice and friendly. They even had complimentary lunch for all of us at the preliminary round. We really enjoyed the experience there. If anyone is considering for the next year, don't be scared!:) Have fun!!!

Sphinx Competition

This is not for everyone, but certainly for black and Latino string players residing in the U. S. 2010 marks their thirteenth year since its' inaugural competition. Unfortunately, I am posting a little too late since their preliminary CD was due by Nov. 11th, 2009, but you can always try next year and just refer to this year's requirement since their rule pretty much stay the same.
This year, the preliminary required pieces for violin were; Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4, 1st movement, two contrasting pieces from Bach Sonata & Partita (Ciaconna will be counted as two contrasting piece for one movement) and piece of your choice for the Junior division. If you would like the list of repertoire for other instruments and for senior division, you can check the repertoire page on Sphinx website. The Sphinx will choose 18 semi-finalists from the preliminary CD submission, 9 semi-finalists for each division. The semi-finalists compete in Ann Arbor & Detroit, MI. First place receives $10,000, 2nd $5,000 and 3rd $3,500 for Senior division. On top of it, the first place laureate will have an opportunity to perform with a major orchestra and CD production from Naxos Label. For Junior division, 1st place $5,000, 2nd place $3,500 and 3rd place $2,000. All three prize winners will perform on the national radio program "From the Top" hosted by Christopher O'reiley. The first place laureate will also have an opportunity to perform with a major orchestra. They also provide all semi-finalists scholarship to various summer institutes and offer one-year instrument loan on need basis. If you are interested in the competition here's the link to their website.

Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition

In my competition blog section, I decided to post competitions information that might be of interest for those who are in middle - high school age. That said, here's one that I found that might fit into my son's age category for the next year. (He will be in the 7th grade next school year.) Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition. This competition is a two-day event and this time, it will be held on Saturday, January 31-Sunday, February 1, 2009 at Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama. This competition is open to musicians in the seventh through the twelfth grades residing in and attending school in the United States. Students of strings, winds, brass, percussion and piano are eligible to enter in one category only. Previous first place winners are not eligible to compete. The winner must be available for rehearsals and publicity as required.
Acceptable literature for the competition includes any one movement from any work in the standard concerto repertoire. Works associated with the student repertoire may be selected if they are original works. Transcriptions or arrangements are not acceptable unless transcribed by the original composer. Memorization is preferred but not required. All works must have orchestral parts available. Special permission is needed for complete concertos in a single movement. Please call the Symphony office (334-240-4004) to request permission.

Saturday, January 31 is the preliminary round. They will divide the musicians into three groups and choose the finalists from each group for the final round the following day which is open to public.

The First Prize winner will perform with the Montgomery Symphony at the Davis Theater on April 27, 2009 and receive $10,000 consisting of a Cash Award of $2,500 and an Educational Award of $7,500; An appearance on the nationally broadcasted From The Top Radio Show hosted by Christopher O’Riley.

If you or your child is interested in entering, here's their application form. Application deadline is Decermber 15, 2008 (It has to be postmarked by this date). If you have a question, the contact person is Helen Steineker and you can email her at mailto:msymphony@bellsouth.net?subject=Blount

Menuhin Competition

One of the most recognized violin competition in the world, Menuhin Competition started on April 11 this year. Thanks to the Internet, you don't have to be in Cardiff to watch it. They have live broadcast of the compeitition.

They have two categories, senior and junior. Senior must not reach 22 years of age and Junior is for under 16 years old. I watched some of the competitors on the live broadcast yesterday. My favorite is Jiafeng Chen from China. Remember, I am not a expert, but his playing was very clean and to me he seemed very comfortable. If you missed the first round. Don't worry, you can still watch by clicking Watch Again tab. Today, April 13th, the competitors for Junior Division will perform. I already missed half of them because of time differences, but will watch the clip from earlier when I get a chance later today.

Next competition is scheduled for 2010. The application is due in October of 2009. If you are thinking of entering, you may want to check back their website often for update.