Here are key dates for the 2020 Piano Festival & Competition:
Registrations open online: November 15, 2019
Entry forms due: February 7, 2020 (no extensions!)
Festival and Competition (all students): Sunday, March 8, 2020, Community United Methodist Church, 20 Center Street, Naperville
Honors Recitals (selected students): Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm, Downers Grove Public Library
We owe a large debt of gratitude to Christine and Ron Paryl, who are stepping down as the official co-chairs of the Piano Festival & Competition. They have worked tirelessly in the past and have done much to streamline the work behind the scenes required to host the festival, notably by moving the entire application process online. Fortunately, they will continue to be involved to ensure the 2020 festival runs smoothly.
There have been a few changes in the rules effective for this and future festivals. A committee was formed to create a new “required” repertoire list that includes a variety of music while keeping the level of difficulty consistent within each level. Both selections performed by a student must now be chosen from this required repertoire list; special requests for alternate selections will no longer be considered. In addition, there will now be two judges hearing each student at the Competition Level. Finally, the age limit for the Junior Competition has been removed; students in this level may be any age level up to a senior in high school. Complete Entry Requirements and the new List of Required Compositions are posted online.
Many thanks to Christine Paryl, Glen Osness, Donna Kovarik and Gloria Salazar for all their effort putting together this new, expanded list.