Acclaimed Ralph Votapek Will Judge DePauw’s Annual Young Artists Piano Competition Saturday

March 27, 2006

March 27, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - The DePauw University School of Music will present its second annual Young Artists Piano Competition on Saturday, April 1, 2006, in the Performing Arts Center's Thompson Recital Hall. High school pianists from across Indiana and the greater Midwest will compete for prizes that include cash awards of up to $500 as well as a $5,000 scholarship for undergraduate study at DePauw’s School of Music.

This year’s distinguished judge is concert pianist Ralph Votapek, the first gold medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and winner of the prestigious Naumburg Award. Votapek has subsequently performed in recitals and with orchestras in London, Paris, St. Petersburg, Madrid, Kiev, and in the Far East.

“I am very excited that Ralph Votapek, whom I greatly respect, is able to visit us this year,” says May Phang, DePauw professor of piano and the event’s organizer. “I particularly look forward to his working with the pianists in the afternoon master class and hope that others in the community will be able to join us.”

This year’s contestants range in age from 15 to 18 and hail from the Illinois cities of Glenview and Peoria; Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Greentown, Indianapolis, and West Lafayette, Indiana;, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Each contestant will perform two contrasting pieces of their choice as well as a required piece, specially written for this year’s competition by DePauw professor and composer Carlos Carrillo.

The competition begins at 9:45 a.m. and continues until 12:40 p.m. Results will be announced at 2p.m., with the Votapek master class beginning at 2:15 p.m. All of the day’s events are free and open to the public.

Visit the DePauw University School of Music online by clicking here. 

Back