Piano Festival
The WSU Piano Festival held Saturday, March 16, 2024 celebrates the art of piano playing and provides an educational experience and development of young pianistic talent. Open to budding and pre-professional pianists grades 1-12, contestants perform in front of our renowned, award-winning guest faculty, interact with fellow students and current collegiate pianists of Weber State and have the chance to win prizes as well as mentorship opportunities with professional artist-faculty. Registration fee is $25. You will need to pay for registration when signing up online. All applications are due by Feb. 29, 2024.
All competition and registration questions should be emailed to wsupianofestival@weber.edu.
Eligibility and Requirements
The festival is open to students in grades 1-12. First-place winners from previous years must compete at a higher level. Past first-place winners in the grade 10-12 divisions are not eligible to compete.
Applicants must perform their pieces from memory, except for the Duet Division. Concerto movements may be unaccompanied. Original scores must be given to the judges. Students may compete in as many as two divisions, but must use different repertoire.
Schedule
Festival competition times will be drawn at random. Special time requests will not be considered.
Saturday, March 16, 2024
8 a.m. – 1 p.m
Student Competitions
Browning Center Rooms 113 and 136
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Carnival Games and Prizes
Browning Center Room 318
2:30 p.m
Festival Honors Recital
Browning Center Room 136
Festival winners will be announced at the Honors Recital, and first-place winners will perform following the announcement. Participants must be present at the Honors Recital in order to receive an award. If your child or student will not be available to play in the recital, they will not be considered for an award at the time of adjudication. Be sure to indicate the performer's availability on the registration form.
Performance Divisions and Rules
Judges
Jared Pierce
Vedrana Subotic
Hilary Demske
Regular Divisions
Grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12
Applicants performing in one of the following divisions must perform two contrasting classical pieces (no popular music) from memory. Unaccompanied concerto movements are permitted.
Time allotments:
- Grades 1-3: up to 3 minutes
- Grades 4-6: up to 5 minutes
- Grades 7-9: up to 8 minutes
- Grades 10-12: up to 10 minutes
Mini-Artist Division
Grades 1-6
Applicants must perform one complete piece (no excerpts) from memory. This division provides students with the opportunity to master one piece. Judge’s decisions will emphasize the quality of the performance, rather than the difficulty of the work.
Time allotment: up to 3 minutes
Bach and Sonatina Division
Grades 1-12
Applicants must perform either one memorized work by J.S. Bach or one movement of a Classical Sonatina from memory.
Time allotment: up to 5 minutes
Duet Division
Grades 1-6 and grades 7-12
Applicants entering the duet division must play two contrasting pieces for one piano four hands. Duets requiring two pianos are not permitted. Memorization is not required.
Time allotments:
- Grades 1-6: up to 8 minutes
- Grades 7-12: up to 10 minutes
Music by Hispanic and Latino Composers Division
Grades 1-12
Applicants must perform one memorized work written by composers of Hispanic and Latino origin, such as Enrique Granados, Federico Mompou, Antonio Soler, Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla.
Time allotment: up to 10 minutes
Online Division
Grades 1-12
This division takes place entirely online. Applicants must perform one or two pieces from memory and submit either a video file (.mp4 or .mov) or provide access links to public platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo. All submissions should be emailed to wsupianofestival@weber.edu.
Time allotment: up to 10 minutes
Department of Performing Arts
801-626-6437
Val A. Browning Center
Weber State University
3950 W. Campus Dr.
Ogden, UT, 84408-1905