2nd Walled City Music International Piano Festival moves online this July

AFTER the success of the inaugural Walled City Music International Piano Festival in July 2019, organisers are preparing to move the second edition of the event online this summer, welcoming up to 100 participants from across the globe.

Festival Director and Competition Jury Chair Dr. Cathal Breslin says, “It is my great pleasure to launch the 2nd WCM International Online Piano Festival and Competition, based in my home city of Derry.

“prizes will total over £4000 as well as special awards, concert opportunities in Europe, and full tuition scholarships to the 2021 WCM International Piano Festival.

“This will be a unique and exciting competition, offering an immersive and inspiring platform for young pianists.”

The competition will be held entirely online, with recorded performance videos uploaded in each round.

The competition runs from 1-24 July and is open to pianists up to the age of 32 years.

Up to 100 participants will submit entries for round 1 and the results of this round will be announced on 10 July.

The semi-final round will feature 24 pianists with finalists announced on 17 July, and the final round will see 6 pianists compete for the top prize, to be announced on 24 July.

Each competitor will receive feedback from the judges at each stage of the competition, to create a positive and immersive experience.

This year’s festival features two special guest jury members; Barry Douglas, Gold Medal Winner in the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Artistic Director of Camerata Ireland Orchestra and the Clandeboye Festival, and Awadagin Pratt, Professor of Piano at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Artistic Director of the Art of the Piano Festival at CCM, and Artistic Director of the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati.

In addition to the special guest jury, the international team of adjudicators is made up of 6 experienced Professors of Piano from various universities in the United States and Asia.

These include:

Chih-Long Hu, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Chu-Fang Huang, Gold Medal Winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and Director of the Ameri-China International Music Foundation.

Pei-Chun Liao,University of Taipei in Taiwan

Artina McCain,University of Memphis, Tennessee

Cahill Smith,Utah State University

Xiaofeng Wu,Nanjing University, China

The deadline for entry is Tuesday 30 June.

For more information visit www.wcmpiano.com

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