e-Piano Junior Competition

by Melissa Ousley,
Minnesota Public Radio
July 9, 2008

St. Paul, Minn. — If you have a fondness for piano music — perhaps you play or once did, or maybe you're the parent of a budding young musician — you might want to carve out some time this afternoon to catch the Semi-Final Round of the Minnesota International e-Piano Junior Competition. The first e-Comp took place in 2002 and has occurred every two years since, just like the Olympics. And, like this year's Olympic athletes, these musicians are from all over the world and playing at the top of their game.

This year, the e-Competition introduces an event that is geared towards pianists who are 17 and younger. If you close your eyes and listen to the music, my guess is you'd find this hard to believe. When the competition began on Saturday, there were 18 contestants. We're now down to nine semi-finalists. Each of them will play a 40-minute program for the seven judges at Hamline University's Sundin Hall. The public is welcome to attend these performances, free of charge. This round of the competition is also being streamed live.

At the end of today's Semi-Final Round, the judges will reduce the number of contestants from nine to five. I hope you can join us on Friday at noon when the five finalists will play a movement from a major concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra. This will be broadcast live on Classical Minnesota Public Radio.

Update: Video of the competition is now being archived online. For more information please visit the Minnesota International e-Piano Junior Competition website.