308 CLAVIERFEST COMPETITION FINALS SET MARCH 24 AT MTSU

Performance Will Feature Top Pianists, Free & Open to Public

(MURFREESBORO)—Talented young pianists from throughout the region and from places as far away as Ohio and even Japan will gather for the 11th annual Clavierfest competition, Saturday, March 24, in the Wright Music Building (WMB) on the MTSU campus.
The daylong event will culminate with a 7:30 p.m. finalists' competition/concert in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the WMB, which is free and open to the public.
The finalist concert will feature the competition’s 12 top finalists. Three finalists will be selected from each of four categories including K-3rd grade, 4th-6th grades, 7th-9th grades and 10th-12th grades.
"The concert of finalist has always been very inspiring and impressive and represents some of the best young talent in the area," said Dr. Jerry Perkins, coordinator of keyboard studies at MTSU.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for the public to hear these talented young pianists," Perkins added.
This year, in conjunction with Clavierfest, two guest artists will perform recitals and give master classes in the Hinton Music Hall. The first guest artist, David Northington, will give a master class at 11 a.m. and an 8 p.m. Friday, March 23, performance titled A Waltz through the Life of Frederic Chopin. The second guest artist, Douglas Humphreys, will give a recital at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 25, as well as a master class at 11 a.m. March 26. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
Northington is first-prize winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition and the East/West Artists Competition. He is chairman of the piano department at UT-Knoxville.
Humphreys was gold medalist at the inaugural Gina Bachaeur International Piano Competition. He is co-chairman of the piano department at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.
The Clavierfest contest is co-sponsored by the MTSU McLean School of Music and the Steinway Piano Gallery of Nashville.
For more information regarding the March 24 Clavierfest contest or related recitals, please contact the McLean School of Music at 615-898-2493.


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