May 13, 2004

Almaden piano students to participate in national audition

By Miranda Schultz
Staff Writer

The National Guild of Piano Teachers will hold guild auditions May 15-27 at the Yamaha Peninsula Music Center on Winchester Boulevard. About 250 students from Almaden will participate.

To audition, students must practice under a teacher in the National Guild of Piano Teachers, a division of the American College of Musicians.

The primary function of these private auditions is to establish goals and awards for students of all ages and abilities. It gives students the opportunity to be evaluated by a qualified adjudicator who scores them on their individual merits. John Cooper of Pelham, Mass. will perform adjudications for Almaden students. Cooper is a concert pianist as well as a composer, and will judge students according to accuracy, continuity, phrasing, pedaling, dynamics, rhythm, tempo, tone, interpretation, style, and technique. The purpose is to encourage growth and enjoyment through the study of piano.

“This gives students the opportunity to achieve a worthwhile goal; they receive an evaluation of their progress,” says Judith Gruber, chairman of the San Jose South Guild.

Students prepare and memorize their own programs in advance. “They have to prepare very balanced programs based on a presentation of baroque, classic, romantic and modern works. We are lucky to have an adjudicator who is so outstanding and famous,” adds Gruber.

Students range from 4-year-olds up to college age, and they play up to 20 memorized pieces. Upon completion, the students receive a gold, silver or bronze pin, a report card, and a year membership in the National Fraternity of Student Musicians.

“The students who participate in this event receive many benefits. They learn how to memorize and perfect things with a goal in mind,” says Gruber. “Most importantly, it gives them a way of analyzing and studying something that is really strictly theirs. No one can take that away from them. Music is so important. It teaches you how to memorize, analyze and perform. It helps a child with self confidence throughout their life.”

The Piano Guild was founded in 1929 by Dr. Irl Allison. Forty-six entrants participated in the first audition (then called a “tournament”) at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. Since that time, the Guild has grown to over 118,000 participants who enroll annually in the international auditions, which are held in over 800 locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.