Once again the sounds of musical masters will be heard echoing through the halls of buildings on campus.

The Missouri Southern International Piano Competition will be coming to campus for the 10th time. The competition first started in 1987 with the winner, Alan Chow, coming from the United States. Chow is now making his return to Southern, by kicking off MSIPC with a lecture to area students at 1 p.m. Monday followed by the opening concert at 8 p.m., also performed by Chow.

At 2:30 p.m. Monday, a masters class will be given by the judges to the honors audition winners. The winners were selected on Feb. 8. The next day, the competition begins. The class, the opening concert, competitions and gala winners concert are all free to University faculty, staff and students. To get into the competitions and concerts, Vivian León, director of MSIPC, asks everyone to either contact the MSIPC office or the ticket office to get a pass.

The competition will be ending at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 24 with the Gala Winner’s Concert, where the winners of both the junior and senior divisions are announced. The winners from each will play at the concert.

History of MSIPC

León said MSIPC started as a school project within the department of music.

“Missouri Southern wanted to be the center of cultural activities for the area,” she said.

The first competition was held in 1987.

Starting in 1988, the competition became a biennial event. In the time since the first competition, more than 50 countries have been represented. In 1993, MSIPC was incorporated as a non-profit organization.

It now operates as an independent entity under the leadership of the director, and a seven-member board. There is also a 18-member planning committee The competition is funded by contributions from individuals, businesses and foundations.

Selection Process

Fifteen countries will be represented in the competition; this does not take into account that MSIPC received applications from approximately 25 countries. Once all these applications are received

a vigorous selection process begins. León said there is a selection committee that is composed of “very qualified pianists in this area, as a matter of fact most of them are faculty members at Missouri Southern.”

She said the competition requires the competitors to know different styles of music from different periods.

“With the application they send in a video audition, that’s how we select them,” León said. “The selection committee will go through each one of these video tapes and listen to them and critique them. But when they select, they will have no idea, no knowledge or information on any of the tapes they are listening to.”

She said the selection committee does not know where the performers on the tape come from or any information at all as to who it is, including not knowing their name. The committee selects the individuals based solely on their performances.

“It all depends on how well they play,” León said. “So, we select the best to invite.”

This type of selection process helps bring about the reputation of MSIPC being a fair competition.

The Judges

There are five judges for the competition and they come from all corners of the world. The judges are: Natalya Antonova, from Russia is a professor at the Eastman School of Music and a concert pianist; Martin Jones, from England is a recording artist and concert pianist; Anne Koscielny, from the USA is a concert artist; Yuko Ninomiya, from Japan is a lecturer/teacher at the Toho School of Music; and Walter Ponce, from Bolivia is the head of the University of California-Los Angeles piano department and a concert pianist.

“These judges give us a wide spectrum of background,” she said. “When they watch a competitor play, they will have all these ideas and input to give them critiques and then they get to select [a winner].”

The judges, just like the selection committee, have no prior knowledge of who is performing. The competition does not publish who the competitors are until the competition is over. MSIPC also does not post who the judges are anywhere on the Internet or publish who they are. This way the judges and the competitors will not have preferences or a way to bribe the judges in any way. This helps with the reputation of MSIPC being a fair competition.

“We are known as one of the fairest competitions anywhere in the world among the major competitions,” León said. “They judge the competitors by not knowing who they are, just how well they play. When they vote it is by secret ballot, so they don’t have any pressure from the other judges.”

When MSIPC first started the judges had to be sought out; now professional pianists and teachers from all over the world send in correspondents saying they are available to judge the competition. León said it is getting easier to pick the judges

The Competition

There are two divisions in the competition – the junior division and the senior division.

The junior division, consists of players 17-years-old and younger.

“We don’t care how young they are, as long as they qualify, then they can apply,” she said. “The young ones are just amazing. Sometimes you look at a 10-year-old, a 13-year-old and you wonder how do they ever get that good when they are that young. It’s always an astounding experience when you watch young talent like that.”

The senior division consists of individuals whose age range from 18-years-old all the way up to 30-years-old. León said 30 is the age limit in the senior division.

“The seniors are the professionals, these are people who have come from all the major conservatories,” she said.

The competitors will be staying with host family during the week.

During the course of the competition pianos, donated by the Steinway Piano Co., will be placed in locations all over campus. Pianos will also be given to the host families, who may not think their pianos are sufficient enough for the competitors to practice on. A piano will also be placed in Hastings, so the customers there will get a chance to hear the competitors play. Hastings also gives a discount to all the competitors, who might not get a chance to get the books, CDs and movies that are available in the United States in their home country. Other locations for the pianos include: the lobby of Taylor Auditorium, the green room in both Webster Hall and Taylor Auditoriums.

The competition begins Tuesday with the lecture, but the contestants begin arriving on Friday and will have an orientation meeting Monday evening.

Daily updates of the competition will be available on The Chart’s Web site, www.thechartonline.com, starting Monday