London Youth Piano Competition Winners!
I am delighted to announce that two of my wonderful students, Yufei Wu and Linda Huang won Third Prize (Grade 1 Class and Grade 4 Class) at the London Youth Piano Competition 2021, out of the 467 competitors who entered from 36 countries. Congratulations!
Yufei Wu (6yrs old) click video below to listen.
Grade 1 Class
Anon. - A Toy (No. 193 from Fitzwilliam Virginal Book)
Chee-Hwa Tan The Swing (from Through the Windowpane)
Linda Huang (9yrs old) click link below to listen
Grade 4 Class
Frank Schubert Minuet and Trio, D. 41 No. 21 Frank Bridge Miniature
Pastoral (No. 2 from Three Miniature Pastorals)
A difficult question — to compete or not to compete?
Parents and piano teachers often challenge their children and students to go beyond casual practice and studio recitals by participating in piano competitions. There is a considerable amount of evidence that piano competitions are beneficial to both children’s musical education and their overall development. Academics, coaches, and teachers agree that the healthy competitiveness fostered by piano competitions goes beyond musicianship to teach valuable life lessons, improve motivation, and promote creativity.
1. An Amplified Learning Experience
For a piano student, few environments offer as many opportunities for musical growth as a piano competition. Dr. Ruth Slenczynska, renowned musician, author, and judge, confirms that piano competitions of all levels are incredibly beneficial to participants. In her article “On Preparation for a Piano Competition,” Slenczynska notes that competitions give contestants the opportunity to perform on the finest pianos in front of well-informed and interested listeners. In addition, contestants often receive tailored feedback and advice from professionals. The learning environment created by a piano competition is truly valuable to the development of a student’s musicianship and teaches lessons that cannot be found through regular practice.
2. A Path to Success
In addition to valuable self-improvement, piano competitions can also provide more tangible rewards. The chance to take home an award or leave a lasting impression on a judge is certainly encouraging to any aspiring music student. Earning recognition at a competition often leads to scholarships, networking connections, and even careers.
3. Superior Musicianship
Bärli Nugent, Assistant Dean and Director of Chamber Music at the Julliard School, refers to the competition environment as a “framework for learning.” Preparing for a competition will involve much more focused practicing and will in turn teach your child how to take a deep dive and truly master every aspect of a piece of music. Competitors will also learn the ability to perform under pressure and how to acknowledge success or failure and learn from it. Any student who participates in a piano competition undergoes a comprehensive and transformative lesson on superior musicianship. Slenczynska notes that music students often work harder and more efficiently when preparing for a competition. For any student committed to improving their musicianship, a piano competition is an excellent opportunity to learn new skills and hone existing ones.
4. Personal Growth
Aside from providing opportunities to grow as a musician, piano competitions can also benefit a child’s general development. The nature of music competitions is such that not everyone can win first place, yet everyone involved can still learn valuable lessons. Mistakes, failures, and feedback teach students to “identify the problems, remedy the deficiencies, reset their goals, and grow from their experiences,” according to psychologist Dr. Sylvia Rimm. Understanding the importance of this problem-solving process is beneficial to the general development of any child.
5. Achieving Excellence
John M. Tauer and Judith M. Harackiewicz, in their 1999 paper “Winning isn’t Everything: Competition, Achievement Orientation, and Intrinsic Motivation,” published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that children engaged in competitive activities display greater enjoyment and motivation than those engaged in non-competitive activities. Further, professors Edward Deci and Richard Ryan found that when children are highly motivated, they display higher levels of creativity, perseverance, and self-esteem. Put simply, a dose of competitiveness from participating in a piano competition can promote healthy habits and lead to excellence elsewhere in a child’s life.
Parents and teachers can be assured that pushing your young piano student to compete will greatly advance your child’s musical abilities and will also teach them lessons that will encourage excellence throughout their lives.
Click here to learn about the 2020 London Youth Piano Competition.
A love for music and specifically for the piano has inspired the founder of LYPC, Dr Sally Wave, to create this international piano competition in Wimbledon.
She says: “I love to organise events and all the love I am giving returns to me as positive energy.
“All of us find that the pandemic is often dragging down our spirits. That’s why after last year’s planned competition could not go ahead, this year it was decided to press on and appear anew as an online event.
“Music is an art that needs to be valued always. As in all the ages back and in times to come, music will lift the heart. Music is teaching us not to dive deep down with depression. Stand by your art whatever happens around you: this should be our slogan in life. Especially in these challenging days, people need to be energised by music.
“Why online – because musicians needs to encourage each other not to give up, not to stop playing. We will succeed in going through the darkness if we hold fast to the flame of music like a torch to show us a better way and soothe our hearts with the beauty of sound.”
