Arts & Entertainment

Piano Festival Set For Saturday

Connecticut College hosts performances by students of Connecticut State Music Teachers Association

Student piano players will congregate at on Saturday to take part in the first New London Piano Festival.

The non-competitive recital will feature students 19 and under and will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Cummings Art Center. It is free and open to the public. Two judges will evaluate students, who will perform in short programs with about eight pianists in each program. The event is hosted by the Middlesex/New London chapter of the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association.

"I am pleasantly surprised by the amount of the participants," said Oxana Lauria, a piano teacher at the Thames Valley Music School located on the Connecticut College campus. "At the present time we have almost one hundred performers. I am looking forward to having a successful event and that will attract more teachers and students in the future.

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Lauria said the idea for the festival came about because while similar events have taken place across the country, there were none available in southeastern Connecticut. Students do not compete against each other, but can earn the Gold Cup Award by receiving points from the judges at the festival. A perfect score is worth five points and students must earn 15 points to win the award, meaning it will take at least three years for students to get the honor.

The association states that the goal of the festival is to “encourage ongoing study by providing recognition for achievement at each level of musical progress.”

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Entrants will play one piece from a syllabus of American composers and one piece of their choice. The syllabus is divided into different levels of primary, early intermediate, intermediate, late intermediate, moderately difficult, difficult, very difficult, and musically advanced. Duet pieces will also be performed.

For more information, visit the Middlesex/New London CSMTA chapter’s website at msnlmta.com.


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