HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY PIANO COMPETITION
High Point University > David R. Hayworth School of Arts and Design > Music > HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY PIANO COMPETITION

The HPU Piano Competition will not be held in 2020.

Please continue to check the webpage for future offerings of the Department of Music.

 

2019 Piano Competition Finalists
Ji-Hyang Gwak
Simon Karakulidi
Alan Woo

2019 North Carolina Junior Piano Competition Finalists
Christopher Saba
Benjamin Li
David Niu

Pictured from left are Marcia Dills, HPU director of keyboard studies, Greg Hartmann, HPU Board of Visitors member Randall Johnson, Hilda Huang and Zhiye Lin.
The winners of HPU’s first N.C. Junior Piano Competition are Andrew Zhen, Christopher Saba, Camilla Fratta and first-place winner Kevin Xu.
The finalists of HPU’s Fourth Annual Piano Competition, from left, Greg Hartmann, Hilda Huang and Zhiye Lin, competed for cash prizes on Sept. 8 in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations High Point University 2017 Piano Competition Finalists

Piano Competition 2017

 

Lin Ye –  First

Rixiang Huan – Second

Huan Zhang – Third

Congratulations High Point University 2016 Piano Competition Finalists

Piano-Competition 2016

Phuong Nguyen (Left), Yi-Yang Chen (Middle),and Angie Zhang (Right).

Yi-Yang Chen –  First

Angie Zhang – Second

Phuong Nguyen – Third

Congratulations to the 3 2015 finalists:

Aleksandra Kasman

Tianpeng Yu

Priscila Navarro

Read more about the 2015 competition

Piano Competition 2015

High Point University Piano Competition Rules

COMPETITION RULES

  1. The annual High Point University Piano Competition, funded by the Randall Thomas Johnson Trust, will be held on the campus of High Point University in High Point, North Carolina. The final round of the piano competition and the awards ceremony will take place on a Saturday in September each year.
  2. The selected three finalists invited to compete at the final round of the competition are required to provide their own housing off campus. The finalists are responsible for additional expenses incurred during the competition.  Practice facilities will be provided by High Point University Music Department.
  3. Contestants must supply at least one score of the music selections for the judges during the final competition.
  4. Each finalist will present a 55-minute recital on the competition day. The competition will be open to the public and contestants will be judged on stage presence as well as the musical and technical aspects of their performance.
  5. All finalists are required to attend the final recital and awards ceremony. Winners will be announced and checks will be presented during the awards ceremony immediately following the winners’ recital.  Results of the competition will be published on the competition website.
  6. The judge’s decision will be final. Contestants, parents, and teachers may not make contact with the judges until after the competition.  The High Point University Piano Competition reserves the right not to award certain prizes if no performance warrants it.
  7. If you are a non-resident alien for tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. government tax authority, requires High Point University to collect information from all non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent resident aliens to determine the appropriate rate of tax withholding and reporting for any payments that may be made to such individuals.
  8. For your convenience, High Point University allows you to provide the required information and complete the necessary forms via the Internet from any web-accessed computer using the GLACIER Online Tax Compliance System. The information and forms must be provided prior to any payment so that the correct tax withholding and reporting decisions are made; failure to do so may result in the maximum rate of tax withholding and/or delayed payment. Information provided to GLACIER is transmitted and stored securely and will only be used by High Point University for purposes of tax withholding and reporting.

Prescreening recording (25-30 minutes):

  1. A sonata-allegro movement from a classical sonata
  2. One etude of virtuosity
  3. One or two additional pieces of the applicant’s choice

Final Recital (55 minutes):

  1. A complete sonata or set of variations by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, or Schubert
  2. A larger 19th-century work
  3. A 20th or 21st century composition
  4. Additional repertoire of the applicant’s choice must be approved by the HPU music faculty
  5. No original compositions are allowed

Eligibility:

  • Applicants must between the ages of 18 to 28.
  • Applicants must reside in the United States of America or its territories.

Prizes:

  • First Prize: $10,000
  • Second Prize: $5,000
  • Third Prize: $3,000

General Rules:

  1. The application is available here and must be completed no later than July 1 of the competition year.
  2. There is an online prescreening round for this competition due to the number of submissions. Please submit a high quality video/audio recording of the repertoire through YouTube links.
  3. A screening jury from the HPU Department of Music piano faculty will review all applications and video submissions and then select three finalists and one alternate, who will be invited to compete on the day of the final competition.
  4. Video submissions should include one virtuosic etude, one sonata movement, and one or two additional pieces of the applicant’s choice. The video submission must be filmed with the pianist’s face and hands in the frame at all times. All works must be performed in their entirety. Repeats are at the applicant’s discretion.
  5. Please provide a detailed program along with the recordings online or through email. If you submit one combined YouTube recording for all the music selections, please indicate the specific time of the recording for each piece and movements.  Recordings must be current.