Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Call For Pianists and Singers: Jose Iturbi International Music Competition

I just received a press release from the Jose Iturbi International Music Competition, which is posted below in full:
Los Angeles – March 30, 2010 - BREAKING NEWS….The José Iturbi International Music Competition has just announced that the competition will be televised for the first time ever!
The competition, which is known as the “American Idol” or “Star Search” of the classical music world, is looking for outstanding classical pianists and vocalists, ages 17 – 35. This is your chance to show the world your talent! Are you the next Lang Lang or Chopin? Is your voice as great as Luciano Pavorotti or Marilyn Horn? The deadline for applicants is May 1, 2010.
This is open to classical pianists and singers of any nationality who are 17 to 35 years old on June 1, 2010. The level of talent is outstanding and the judges in competition look for contestants to have a full range vocally, including the ability to perform pieces from opera to Broadway and Cole Porter; and for pianists to perform works from J.S. Bach to Chopin, to Gershwin and beyond.
This is the first time the four year old competition will be televised. The first round of José Iturbi Foundation’s competition will take place June 14–19 in Los Angeles at Schoenberg Hall and will be taped for broadcast. The final rounds will be broadcast live in front of a studio audience in the fall and will attract international press exposure for the contestants.
This competition awards the largest cash prizes (totaling $250,000) of any classical piano and voice competition worldwide and is one of the most prestigious, as it is only international music competition that awards cash prizes annually, while most competitions take place bi-annually or every few years. The grand prize for piano is $50,000 and the grand prize for voice is $50,000. Competitors will receive airfare and hotel allowance.
The 2010 judges for piano are: David Pollack (Chairman), Jorge Mester, Lalo Schifrin, Mark Swed, and Ilana Vered. The 2010 judges for voice are: Matthew Epstein (Chairman), David Daniels, Marilyn Horne, Peter Kazaras, Carol Vaness. The collaborator/accompanist for the final round of competition is Martin Katz.
Deadline to enter is May 1, 2010. Enter now! To submit and application and for more information about the competition, go to http://www.joseiturbifoundation.org.
This looks like a fascinating opportunity, especially for the finalists who will get to work with Martin Katz. I wonder which TV network will be picking up the competition...

(Thanks, Jennifer!)

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:55 AM

    as serious as this competition appears on their website, it is ironic to me that their press release misspelled both pavArotti and hornE in the second paragraph.

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  2. This is OUTSTANDING! I would love to do something like this locally in the Boston area. If you would like to put your heads together with me on this contact me at Boston Organ & Piano in Natick.

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  3. Thanks for the comments. Yes, those are classic[al] PR typos.

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