Competition keyed to young pianists

Before Erin Hales takes the stage to play in piano competition she usually takes a couple of minutes to practice tai chi, the ancient Chinese discipline of meditation and deep breathing.

Page Moon, 14, of Anchorage, Alaska, warms up backstage before her performance. At rear left is Janet Moon, Page's mother.

That’s what the 15-year-old Fountain Hills, Ariz., girl did Sunday before her performance in the International Institute for Young Musicians’ piano competition at Kansas University’s Lied Center.

Tai chi and a lot of hard work paid off.

“I was more satisfied this year than I was last year,” Erin said after her performance with pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin, among other composers. “I’ve been working very hard. I started about a year ago.”

Erin was one of 16 youths from the United States, Canada, Taiwan and Japan who participated in the competition. The finals will be Tuesday at the Lied Center.

Earlier this year young pianists submitted tapes of their play to institute judges, who then selected those who would compete Sunday.

“It was very difficult this year,” said Scott McBride Smith, the institute’s chief executive. “The first-round judges had to listen to the tapes five times, which is a good problem to have.”

Yvonne Chen, of Fairfax, Va., plays during the 2005 International Institute for Young Musicians piano competition. Sixteen people competed in Sunday's semifinal at Kansas University's Lied Center.

The competitors are among 100 youths who this week are attending the institute’s piano camp, which includes a series of classes, recitals, concerts and master classes.

During Sunday and Tuesday’s competitions, a new set of judges decides who the winners will be.

Judges look for sound fundamentals and accuracy in a competitor’s piano play, Smith said. But there is more.

“What they are really looking for is kind of a personality about it or something interesting and special you can see through the music,” Smith said.

Youths in the competition range in age from 12 to 17. They play for 25 minutes and choose their own music.

Erin always gets nervous before competition, but that’s to be expected, she said. And she never watches a competitor’s performance before she plays.

“I do get nervous, but that doesn’t really tend to hamper my play too much,” she said.

The final competition will be from 3 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Lied Center. It is free and open to the public. The winners will be announced about 8:45 p.m. Winners will perform and be interviewed at 11:10 a.m. Thursday on Kansas Public Radio, 91.5 FM. A winner’s recital will be at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.