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2025 Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Association Advanced Honors Awards Competition

The Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Association is a non-profit organization that promotes and maintains high standards of piano teaching by offering opportunities and motivation for the educational growth of the teachers and their students.

 

PPTA members’ students who are ages 16-19 as of April 15, 2025 are invited to apply to compete in the PPTA Advanced Honors Awards Competition. PPTA members must be a member by the September 1st prior to the competition. There is no entrance fee for the competition and teachers may enter more than one eligible student. Applications are due by MARCH 15 2025.

 

The 2025 competition will be held at PYCO School of Music, 150 Lake Drive, Suite 103, Wexford, PA 15090, on the afternoon of April 26, 2025.

 

Entrants perform a minimum of two contrasting pieces (of two different time periods) from standard repertoire chosen from the following lists ONLY:

 

 

  • NFMC Very Difficult I, Very Difficult II, or Musically Advanced Class I (Lists can be found in the NFMC bulletin.)

 

  • Performance Levels 11-12 Achievement in Music (STAR Evaluations) Syllabus PPTA AIM Syllabus Level 11 and 12 Repertoire.pdf

 

Pieces must not be pieces from PPTA’s other 2025 solo performance competitions.

No exceptions or deviations from these repertoire lists will be accepted for the competition. Please do not ask the competition chair to make exceptions as the requests will be denied. Repertoire from other levels on these lists will also not be accepted. Please choose programs only from the levels listed.

 

Entrants who perform a third piece by an American composer from these lists are also eligible to be considered for the American Music Prize. Entrants who only perform two pieces, even if one of them is by an American composer, will not be eligible to be considered for the American prize, but may be considered for first or second place. 

 

A performance time limit of 15 minutes will be enforced.

Memorization of all repertoire performed is required. Applicant must provide to the judges one score of all repertoire to be performed.

The Honors Awards are one-time awards for all who place in the competition. Those who place first or second may not enter the competition in subsequent years. In the event that the American Prize winner does not place 1st or 2nd, they may compete again in a consecutive year.

Three outside judges (not PPTA members) will be hired to judge this competition. The judges will use blind ballot procedures similar to MTNA competition judging guidelines:

 

http://www.mtna.org/media/77694/PerfJudgesGuidelines.pdf

 

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The breakdown of prizes to be awarded in 2023 is as follows:

1st place $2,000

2nd place $1,000

American Music Prize $500 (this may be awarded to the 1st or 2nd place winners or other entrants. It is a prize for the best performance of an American composer’s music, but this piece must be one of a program of three pieces.)

First place, second place, and American Prize winners would be required to perform at the May PPTA competition winners’ recital in the year that they win the prize.

All competition participants will receive certificates of participation. No honorable mentions will be awarded. All awards are made at the judges’ discretion. The judges’ decision is final. Parents, guardians, and teachers may not challenge the judges’ decision.

Direct any inquiries to Mary Lynne Bennett, Competition Chair, bennet12@duq.edu

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PPTA Advanced Honors Awards Competition Application

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