MUSIC

The Chopin Society of Houston presents the Seventh International Chopin Youth Competition, October 29 and 30, 2011 at Houston Community College, 1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy N. The event will take place in the Performing Arts Center. It is time again for our biannual competition for young pianists: our seventh event. For those of you who are not familiar with this competition, we have three age groups from grades K through 12. We normally receive over 100 applications. A preliminary round reduces this to about 20 contestants per age group, who then go on to perform at Houston Community College before a panel of distinguished judges.

As part of the competition, each student must perform a required piece. This year, the contestants must choose from a list of Preludes. These are some of Chopin’s most beautiful pieces: from the simple, yet elegant Prelude in A Major, to the stormy, virtuosic D Minor.

Chopin Youth Competitions bring together young piano students from different places, backgrounds, upbringing, and ethnic groups united by the same love and language of Chopin’s music. This language that knows no borders is a treasure for all of humanity.

The music of Fryderyk Chopin has an unsurpassed emotional content, and teaches young musicians to express without words what they have in their hearts. The art and joy of teaching and performing Chopin’s music is the key factor in motivating our committee to organize those competitions and the way of helping young people how to express love, passion and unlimited beauty. We always hope that competitions will serve as a motivation, and not a contest only for the sake of competing, and give recognition to students hard work and talent.

Honorable judges choose the outstanding performances, and we, the organizers, decorate the winners with medals and awards. Since 2003 we use a medal, artistically created by the famous Houston sculptor Pat Moberly Moore, that is a source of great pride for us and a treasure for those who receive them.

The semi-round final schedule will be as follows:
Elementary Division: Saturday, 9:00AM - 12:30PM
Junior Division: Saturday, 2:30AM - 7:30PM
Senior Division: Sunday, 10:00AM - 1:00PM

Final Round and Awards Ceremony:
Sunday, 3:00PM-6:00PM

This event is open to the public. If you enjoy hearing talented young musicians play, then by all means, come to HCC!