Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music

The Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition exists to celebrate the piano through concerts, masterclasses, and competitive and non-competitive performance events. Students and music lovers of all ages are encouraged to attend and participate in events. Enjoy a weekend filled with concerts, masterclasses and other events!

 

Dr. Artina McCain  Associate Professor of Piano Area Coordinator of Keyboard Studies	Dr. Jonathan Tsay    Assistant Professor of Piano	Natalia Vanegas Escobar Competition Coordinator

November 8, 2025

Registration: September 2 – October 5

FESTIVAL DIRECTORS + COMPETITION COORDINATOR

Categories/Prizes

Contestants may choose to participate on a non-competitive basis in any category.
All participants, regardless of competitive status, will receive adjudicator comments sheet.

🌼 Blossoming Beginners (Ages 4–7)

• Format: In person
• Awards: Participation Certificates
• Repertoire Requirements:
• Free choice of pieces from at least two contrasting musical periods
• May include non-competitive duets with a partner (not a teacher or parent)
  Time Limit: 3 minutes
  
  

✨ Bright Juniors (Ages 7–10)

• Format: In person
• Awards:
• 🥇 First Prize: $100 AMRO Gift Card
• 🥈🥉 Certificates for Second and Third Prize winners
  
  
• Repertoire Requirements:
• Free choice of pieces from at least two contrasting musical periods
• Time Limit: 5 minutes
  
  

🌟 Young Stars (Ages 11–14)

• Format: In person
• Awards:
  
  
• 🥇 First Prize: $100 cash + $100 AMRO Gift Card
• 🥈 Second Prize: $100 cash
• 🥉 Third Prize: $50 cash
• 🎖 Honorable Mentions at judges’ discretion
  
  
• Repertoire Requirements:
  
  
• Free choice of pieces from at least two contrasting musical periods
• Time Limit: 10 minutes
  
  

🎨 Young Artists (Ages 15–18)

• Format: In person
• Awards:
• 🥇 First Prize: $300 cash + $100 AMRO Gift Card
• 🥈 Second Prize: $200 cash
• 🥉 Third Prize: $100 cash
• 🎖 Honorable Mentions at judges’ discretion
  
  
• Repertoire Requirements:
  
  
• Free choice of pieces from at least two contrasting musical periods
• Time Limit: 15 minutes
  
  

🎓 Collegiate Artists (Ages 18+)

Format: In person (Prescreening required)

• Contestants must submit a prescreening video with their registration form
• Up to 14 finalists will be invited to advance to the live round. Finalist will be announced by October 8th 2025. 

Awards:

• 🥇 First Prize: $1,000 cash
• 🥈 Second Prize: $500 cash
• 🥉 Third Prize and 🎖 Honorable Mentions at judges’ discretion

Prescreening Video Requirements:

• One unedited, single-take video (10 minutes) of free choice repertoire
• Must be recorded within one year of the competition date
• Video may include pieces intended for the live round
• Upload the video to YouTube and set it as Public or Unlisted (Private videos cannot be viewed by judges)
• The video link must be included in the registration form at the time of submission

Live Round Repertoire Requirements:

• Free choice of pieces from at least two contrasting musical periods
• Time Limit: 20 minutes

Locations + Deadlines

• All live performances will be held at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis, 3775 Central Ave., Memphis, TN 38111.
• Final deadline for completed entries: October 5th, 2025. 11:59pm CST
• Collegiate competitors accepted to the live round will be announced by October 8th 2025.
• Competition date -  Saturday November 8th, 2025

Competition Rules

1. Performances may exceed limit but will be stopped when time is up (this will not affect scoring)
2. Memorization is required unless the piece was composed after 1955. Non-competitive entrants are not required to memorize their pieces
3. Ages will be calculated based on the day of competition. In the exceptional cases of an 18 year-old attending high-school (or equivalent), or a 17-year-old attending college, they may choose which Competition they prefer to enter.
   Applicants for the Collegiate Artists category should be aged 18 as of the day of the competition, except for cases that fall under the previous exception. Students must be enrolled as a full-time student in a College, University or Conservatory in order to compete. Students should bring a Student ID, teacher verification, or a recent transcript when they check in.
4. Detailed repertoire information is required - movement numbers, titles of movements and exact timings. Contestants should bring purchased, clean scores for the judges, except for public domain pieces. For programs over the allocated time, judges will ask for portions of the repertoire at their discretion. No changes in the repertoire are allowed after the final deadline for completed entries listed above. Blossoming Beginners, Bright Juniors and Young Stars may also enter duet repertoire (from the above musical periods) with partners who are not their primary teacher or parent. Duets are non-competitive only.
5. Exceptional performances will be nominated to perform in a masterclass during the festival or a later date at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. 
6. Winners agree to the use of their photographic image to be used in social media and website content related to the competition and the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music unless otherwise expressed.

Registration

• Final deadline for completed entries: October 5th, 2025. 11:59pm CST
• Competition date -  Saturday November 8th, 2025
• Contestants and allocated performance times may be limited. Please register early. No late applications are accepted.
• Student and teacher names and contact information are required at the online registration.
• A valid credit or debit card is required for online registration fee - fees must be received by the final deadline for completed entries.

SPONSORS:

Fees

• $100 Collegiate category
• $50 for all other categories

2025 Schedule

Coming Soon!   For more information, contact: uofmpiano@gmail.com