SSO partners National Arts Council for National Piano and Violin Competition

SSO partners National Arts Council for National Piano and Violin Competition

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will be partnering the National Arts Council (NAC) to co-organise the biennial National Piano and Violin Competition (NPVC) this year.

This is the first time that the two organisations will be co-organising the event.

In its 10th edition, the competition remains one of the nation's signature talent discovery platforms for young classical musicians.

Three areas of enhancements to the competition have been introduced this year. They include:

(i) New video screening round introduced: Unlike previous editions, applicants this year will be required to submit a video excerpt of their chosen competition pieces along with their application. This video will be part of the first round of evaluation. Only successful applicants will move on to the quarter finals in the live competition.

(ii) Participants in the Senior category for Violin now required to perform a violin-piano sonata: Participants in the Senior category for Violin will now be required to perform a full violin-piano sonata instead of an accompanied violin concerto.

(iii) Adjustments to age limits for Junior and Senior categories: The Junior category will be open to participants aged 11 (previously 12) and under. The Senior category will now admit those aged 21 (previously 18) and under.

Chairman of the NPVC Advisory Committee and Cultural Medallion recipient, Dr Kelly Tang added, "These adjustments have been carefully calibrated to provide young performers greater opportunity to hone and focus on essential aspects of musicianship necessary to undergird the further development and flourishing of our music scene."

This year, local composers will be commissioned to put together an original suite as part of the SG50 celebrations. The various pieces will be used as set competition pieces for Senior and Artist category participants and the final medley will be presented at the Prize Winners' Concert at the end of the competition.

The competition is open to Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs) while non-Singaporeans/PRs studying, working or residing in Singapore can participate in the Artist category. The top three winners of each category stand to win cash prizes ranging from $200 to $5,000.

This year will also see the final instalment of the Goh Soon Tioe Outstanding Performer Award, given to an exceptional performer at the Violin competition. The winner of the award will receive $10,000, which can be used for music development programmes and/or to subsidise expenses incurred to develop his or her violin skills.

Interested applicants may obtain more information on the NPVC website at https://www.nac.gov.sg/npvc. Registration closes at 5pm, June 30.

ljessica@sph.com.sg

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