Ensemble 212 - Competition

Category:	Piano, age 18 or younger, high school / pre-college division
Piece:	Frédéric Chopin: Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 or Frédéric Chopin: Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21 or Schumann Piano Concerto, Op. 92
Preliminary Round:	Postmark application materials by Thursday, December 31, 2009. Announcement of Finalists: January 11, 2010
Final Round:	Thursday, January 28, 2010 2–5 PM
Performance:	February 13, 2010 7:30 PM

Eligibility - Applicants must be:
•	under age 18 on December 31, 2009. Ensemble 212 reserves the right to request proof of age if needed.
•	a resident of the greater New York metropolitan area OR
•	enrolled in an elementary, junior or senior high school, or any music school or pre-college program located in New York City. College students UNDER 18 ARE eligible. This is in the rare case that the applicant by merit has graduated from high school early and is enrolled in a college or conservatory degree program.
The greater New York Metropolitan area is defined as the 5 boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange counties of New York State, Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Union, Middlesex, Monmouth counties of New Jersey, Fairfield county of Connecticut.

Application

Please download the application form . (PDF file)

Complete the application form, signed by the applicant along with:

•	audio Recording (mp3 or audio CD only, please) with 10–15 minutes of solo repertoire that best represents the applicant's playing.
•	letter of approval signed by your private teacher (may be sent via email to ensemble212@gmail.com)
•	current resumé that lists your musical accomplishments
•	a non-refundable $40.00 application fee payable to Ensemble 212. Please send a personal check or money order and write the name of applicant in the note section. We regret we cannot accept electronic payments at this time.

Mail the complete application along with all materials to:

Ensemble 212 Young Artist Competition
c/o Lisa Yui
865 West End Avenue #10C
New York, NY 10025

Please submit all materials together. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Please do not send any additional materials not asked for in the application as they bear no consideration to the competition. We regret we cannot accept applications electronically at this time. The deadline for submitting applications is Thursday December 31, 2009.

CD/MP3 Guidelines
1.	The applicant’s CD will serve as the pre-screening round. Recordings must be genuinely performed by the applicants.
2.	The CD must be clearly labeled with the applicant’s name.
3.	Please do not make any speeches or statements on the CD.
4.	Orchestral accompaniment is not required for the pre-screening CD. Use only live piano/orchestral accompaniment. Pre-recorded accompaniments such as Music Minus One are NOT acceptable.
5.	Please submit audio CDs or mp3s only. DO NOT submit recordings in any other format such as cassette tape, Mini disc, DAT, VHS, 8mm, Hi-8, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray, WAV, or compressed audio formats (such as aac or wma).
6.	Please make sure that your CD is of the highest audio quality possible which best demonstrates your abilities, but do not edit the recording or add any digital effects such as reverb. Splicing is acceptable. If sedning mp3s please encode at 192 kbit/s or higher.
7.	Applicants should review their pre-screening CD before mailing to ensure that they are playable in a standard CD player.
8.	All CDs submitted become the property of Ensemble 212 and will not be returned.
Please note: failure to comply with CD guidelines will result in disqualification.

Competition Procedure

Ensemble 212 will review all applicants and select the finalists based of their qualifications. After all applicants have been pre-screened, up to 12 applicants will advance to the final round and a pre-selected 15-minute excerpt of the concerto will be performed in the presence of a live audience and jury.

If selected for the final round, you will be notified by email with your time slot and the exact pre-selected 15-minute excerpt of the concerto on Monday, January 11, 2010. For the final round, the applicant must be prepared to perform the pre-selected 15-minute excerpt of the concerto by memory with piano accompaniment. Each finalist will make provisions for his/her own accompanist. Any finalist who is unable to attend the competition for any reason will be disqualified. No make-ups are allowed. The final round will take place on Thursday January 28, 2010 between 2 – 5 PM at the Yamaha Artist Services Inc. (YASI) located at 689 5th Ave. 3rd Floor (entrance on East 54th St.) New York, NY 10022.
Click here for map and directions.

A winner and an alternate (if necessary) will be selected after the final round and announced later that day. All decisions of the judges shall be final and beyond appeal. If finalists do not meet the judges' standards, no winner or alternate will be selected. If for any reason the declared winner is not able to perform with Ensemble 212 on Saturday, February 13, 2010, the alternate will take the place of the winner and perform with Ensemble 212. The winner is ineligible to compete in any other Ensemble 212 Young Artist Competition for the following 2 years. This does not apply to finalists or the alternate if he/she does not take the place of the winner. No prize money will be awarded.

The winner will perform the his/her selected Piano Concerto with Ensemble 212 at the Good Shepherd-Faith Church on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 7:30 PM. Rehearsals will take place during the week of the concert and times will be announced to the winner and alternate.