Concerto Competition 2019-2020 Winners

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The SPPTA Concerto Competition provides students with an opportunity to prepare a piano concerto movement, perform it with accompaniment, and receive feedback from the judges for continued musical growth.  Contestants also compete for cash prizes and the ability to perform their prepared concerto movement in concert with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra

Awards from the Scholarship Fund: 

1st Place - $250 and Concert Soloist 

2nd Place - $150 3rd Place - $100

The guidelines and registration form, as well as a list of suggested concerto repertoire are available at the SPPTA website (www.sppta.org) under the “Programs for Students” tab, Concerto Competition.

Registration will be accepted between September 1st and October 15th, 2019.  The registration fee is $50 per student for SPPTA Members, $75 per student for non-members, and is waived for MusicLink students, when the teacher’s MusicLink ID is noted on the registration form.

Location: Brooklyn Center Schmitt Music Auditorium, 2400 Freeway Blvd., Brooklyn Center, MN  55430

Competition Preliminaries:  Saturday, December 7th, 2019 from approximately Noon-5:00pm 

Competition Finals:  Saturday, December 7th, 2019 from 7:30pm-9:30pm.  Doors will open at 7:15pm.

Winner to play in Concert with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra 

3:00pm, Sunday, February 9th, 2020 at Augustana Lutheran Church in West St. Paul

Contributions to the program:  Contributions and Memorials can be made to the Honors and Awards Fund.  All gifts are tax deductible.  Please make checks payable to SPPTA.

Concerto Competition Rules and Regulations: 

1. Registration limits   The SPPTA Concerto Competition accommodates up to thirty-two students.  Any registrations received beyond this amount will be placed in a lottery to establish alternates in the case of cancellations.  Teachers with more than one student in the lottery will have the opportunity to rank them. Registration forms must be postmarked by October 15th to be accepted.

2. Fee.   $50 per student for SPPTA members; $75 per student of non-members.  Checks must be written by the teacher and payable to SPPTA.  This fee is waived for MusicLink students when the teacher’s MusicLink ID is noted on the registration form.  Refunds are given only if students are unable to participate due to program capacity.

3. Eligibility.   This competition is open to any student through grade 12, whose teacher has been their primary teacher for at least 8 months.  That teacher must complete and sign the registration form and take care of all the details.  While a student who has won the competition may continue to participate in subsequent years to receive the judges’ critiques, he/she cannot be awarded 1st place again.

4. Repertoire.   Teachers may choose any concerto.  Some suggestions are provided online at the SPPTA website, www.sppta.org.  A full movement must be prepared.  Please note that each time a student participates in the competition, a different movement or concerto must be performed.  Concerto selections cannot be changed after the registration deadline.  The judges can stop and start students at appropriate places in the music, keeping within the time frame, so that the cadenza and other important parts of the movement are heard.

5. Time Limits.    A student’s performance time at the preliminary auditions may not exceed ten (10) minutes and should be one (1) movement, except as noted on the suggested concerto list.  The teacher should make and clearly mark all appropriate cuts in the tutti to allow the student to play as much of the movement as possible, allowing time for the entire cadenza to be heard.  Finalists may expand their playing time to no more than twelve (12) minutes including tutti.  Each student must play the same movement for the final auditions as was played for the preliminaries.

6. Finalists’ Concert.    At the judges’ discretion, a maximum of six (6) students will be chosen to play in the final auditions.  A winner may or may not be chosen.

7. First-Place Winner.    The first-place winner must be available to rehearse and perform with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra.  Once a student has won, he/she may not be awarded 1st place again in subsequent years, even if he/she was unable to perform with the orchestra when selected.

8. Accompanist.    A student must provide his/her own accompanist.

9. Music for Judge.    Each student must provide clean, non-photocopied music for the judge.  Printed public domain pieces are acceptable.  Make sure pencil marks are erased, and measures are neatly numbered.  Mark all cuts clearly (sticky notes, paper clips, etc.) to ensure the judges can easily follow the performance.

10. Cadenzas.    Cadenzas may be photocopied with all measures numbered.

11. Contestant Minimum.    In case of low registration numbers, the program may not be offered.

12. Audition Format.    All auditions must be done in person, on the date of the competition.  No other form of performance submission will be accepted.

13. Open to the Public.    Both preliminary and final auditions are open to the public, and all participants are encouraged to attend the finalists’ evening auditions.

14. Videotaping.    No videotaping of any kind is allowed at the competition.

15. Communication with the Judges.    No student, parent, or teacher may communicate with the judges at any time.  If you have any questions or concerns about the event, please speak with the concerto competition coordinator.  No one is allowed to discuss performance details with the judges, and the decision of the judges is final.

16. Memorization. While memorization is not required to participate in the preliminary round and receive the judges' critiques, only those individuals performing their concerto memorized will be considered as possible finalists. 

17. Disqualification.    Please review these guidelines well, and discuss them with your students, as infractions of these rules will result in disqualification.

This year’s Concerto Competition will be held on Saturday, December 7th, 2019.  Both the preliminary and final auditions will be at the Brooklyn Center Schmitt Music Auditorium at 2400 Freeway Blvd, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430. 

 Thank you for your participation - we will accommodate scheduling requests whenever possible.  Please read the attached rules carefully and completely.  

Register and pay online at www.sppta.org, 

or via mail Registrations accepted September 1st – October 15th, 2019.     

Mail registration forms to: 

Beverly Olson,

Attn: Concerto Competition

 1017 Glen Paul Court,

Shoreview, MN 55126

 She can be reached at Bev@BenchandBow.com and (651) 341-0353 if you have questions.