UNOmaha Department of Music


	the University of Nebraska at Omaha announces The Robert M. Spire Piano Competition *Application Deadline March 30, 2008** Deadline has been extended. CATEGORY I* Eligibility Category I of the competition is open to high school students from the 9th grade to the 12th, who are residents of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, the Dakotas or Wyoming. Prizes First Place: $1,000.00 Second Place: $500.00 Additional prizes in the form of scholarships will be awarded to students interested in attending UNO to study piano at the collegiate level. Repertoire Contestants must perform, from memory, a program representing at least three of the following five categories: I. A Prelude & Fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier or other significant work of J.S. Bach II. A movement of a sonata by Beethoven, Mozart or Haydn. III. A significant work from the Romantic Style Period Selected grouping of no less than three shorter, contrasting works such as etudes, mazurkas, or preludes is permitted. IV. Any work by Debussy, Ravel, or Griffes V. A 20th or 21st century work excluding impressionism. CATEGORY II Eligibility Students who fulfill the eligibility requirements in category I are also eligible for category II. Also eligible in this category are undergraduate full-time music majors in colleges, universitites or conservatories within the six states listed above. Prizes First Place: Performance with the Omaha Symphony (Please see details below)* Second Place: Performance with the Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra Repertoire A movement of a concerto Applicants must provide their own accompanists for category II. Judges* A panel of judges will be selected from among university and/or private piano teachers who do not have students entering the competition, Ernest Richardson, resident conductor of the Omaha Symphony, and Christopher Stanichar, conductor of the Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra. Application Those who wish to enter the competition must complete the application form and return it to the address indicated postmarked no later than March 30, 2008. (Please contact Dr. James Johnson directly for the most current information.) The application form must be accompanied by a copy of the proposed program for the competition and a resume that should include teachers, prizes won, and any other pertinent information. Applicants will be accepted to the competition on the basis of the resume and level of difficulty of repertoire. No more than 15 applicants will be accepted in each category. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by April 7, 2008. Dates for the 2008 Competition are Friday, April 18 for Category I and Saturday, April 19 for Category II. Omaha Symphony Performance Details1) Competition winners will perform on the Omaha Symphony's Celebrate Creativity education concerts that will be held in October 2008. The audience for each of these performances is approximately 300 middle school and high school students. There are four Celebrate Creativity performances. The winner will be asked to choose one or two performances for which they are available. If a student is unavailable for the Celebrate Creativity dates, they forfeit their opportunity to perform with the Omaha Symphony. 2) The winning student will perform with the Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra. Therefore, they will likely not perform the composition with which they won the competition. Student will be asked to choose a piece that is in the Omaha Symphony library, is for chamber orchestra (2222 2211 tmp +1 strings), and is not more than 7 minutes in length. The student's choice must be approved by the conductor. 3) During their time in Omaha, the Omaha Symphony Guild will provide housing. Winning students are responsible for their own transportation to Omaha for these performances. Download Application* (pdf) \| (Word) Additional information and/or a hard copy of the application form can be obtained by contacting: Dr. James Johnson *Competition Events Coordinator* jdjohnson@mail.unomaha.edu or by telephone at 402-554-3353 Admissions \| Financial Aid \| Campus Map \| UNO Home Send Additions/Corrections to: Shellie Harden