It was a display of young talent at the Kawai Junior Piano Competition held at the Alliance Francaise recently.
Presented by Theme and Kawai Pianos in association with the Majolly Music Trust, the event saw an interesting crowd consisting of parents, students and musicians.
The competition aimed to encourage and promote musical culture among children and youth by showcasing the talents of participants.
The preliminary competition began early in the day and each of the 39 participants had to perform two contrasting pieces from the approved repertoire.
In the final round, ten participants were chosen and had to perform all four pieces from the listed repertoire. This round was open to the public and was held in the evening.
The winners were highly excited by their win.
The first prize winner was given a Kawai digital piano and music books from Alfred Publishing and a medal; the second and third prize winners were given a cash prize of Rs 21,000 and Rs 11,000 respectively along with music books from Alfred Publishing and medals.
There was also a special recognition for ‘Promising Pianist’. Deeni Golay, a sixth grader who won of the competition, was elated about the win.
“I performed ‘Gavotte in G’, ‘Allegro in F’, ‘Old French Song’ and ‘Tango’. I’ve been practising for two months now and it feels nice that my efforts have paid off,” said Deeni.
Jungju Shim, another sixth grader who won the third prize in the competition, said that the experience was fantastic.
“It was also slightly disappointing as I couldn’t reach my goal. But I was satisfied. It was my first competition and a wonderful learning experience. I performed four different pieces that included the ‘Sonatina in F’,” he said.
The programme organisers were also excited as the competition saw a good response.
Ashwin Prabhakaran, regional manager for Theme Music, said that the programme was aimed at showcasing the versatility of the students through different styles and techniques.
“Our syllabus required them to play pieces from Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern periods. All the participants were well prepared and played confidently,” he said.
Neecia Majolly from the Majolly Music Trust said that it was great to see so many participants despite this being the first edition of the competition.
“It’s a rare sight to see the students perform with such confidence. Many people from the music fraternity listened to the performances and appreciated the efforts put in by the students,” she said. Anantha Subramaniam, a member of the audience, said that it was impressive how the participants performed.
“At their age, they performed in front of a crowd with such perfection. It is highly appreciable,” he said.