Ghiglieri Piano Competition

Congratulations!

Competition Winners Announced

2024 Ghiglieri Competition Results

The Sylvia M. Ghiglieri Piano Competition recognizes and promotes the musical achievements and development of promising young pianists. Winners will be chosen based on performances held at Stanislaus State University in Turlock, CA. Events of the competition take place in Snider Recital Hall and the Music Building, located on the west side of the University campus.

All winners perform in the Winners Recital immediately following the competition and receive awards altogether totalling nearly $1,000. In addition, high school seniors placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the Senior Division who have applied for and been accepted for entrance into the piano performance major at California State University, Stanislaus will be given consideration for a college scholarship of up to $2,500 (renewable annually over four years of collegiate study for a potential total of $10,000); the competition performance will be considered the college performance entrance audition.

By participating in this event, you agree to adhere to the Stan State Campus Event Protocols.

Awards - All Winners

All award winners are given the opportunity to perform in the end-of-competition Winners Recital in Snider Recital Hall.

Awards - Senior Division

SENIOR DIVISION SPECIAL AWARD FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
COLLEGE PIANO SCHOLARSHIP PRIZE CONSIDERATION

As the Ghiglieri Piano Competition and the Keyboard Studies program of California State University, Stanislaus recognizes the efforts of aspiring young pianists, the competition offers a special scholarship awards category that supports senior high school pianists interested in pursuing further piano studies at the collegiate level.  As such, the competition—with consent of the jury—will award college scholarship consideration to any senior high school winner placing in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd prizes (and qualifying Honorable Mentions) of the competition’s Senior Division if he/she has applied to study as a piano performance major at Stanislaus State for the subsequent year. Any winning senior high school pianist considering such entrance into the piano performance major at Stanislaus State needs to have applied for and been accepted to University and Department of Music admission during the current University application period. Furthermore, the winner must email Dr. Sarah Chan at schan7@csustan.edu immediately following the competition regarding his/her intent to be considered for a major in Piano Performance studies at CSU Stanislaus.  The candidate’s competition performance can then be considered as the University Department of Music entrance scholarship audition in lieu of a normally-scheduled audition taken through the Music Department auditions process. (Information about normal University and Music Department admissions procedures available on the Admissions webpage and Music Entrance Audition webpage. 

About the college scholarship award: The college piano scholarship consideration entails up to $2,500 of award funds renewable annually for a total of up to $10,000 dispensed over four years of collegiate study at Stanislaus State.  Scholarship funds are received upon actual admission and enrollment at Stanislaus State.

About the Piano Performance degree program at Stanislaus State

First Prize Winner - $300 Award. Additionally, up to $2,500 4-year renewable (up to $10,000) CSU Stanislaus University Department of Music Piano Scholarship Award Consideration if a senior in high school* (see details below)

Second Prize Winner - $250 Award. Additionally, up to $2,500 4-year renewable (up to $10,000) CSU Stanislaus University Department of Music Piano Scholarship Award Consideration if a senior in high school* (see details below)

Third Prize Winner - $200 Award. Additionally, up to $2,500 4-year renewable (up to $10,000) CSU Stanislaus University Department of Music Piano Scholarship Award Consideration if a senior in high school* (see details below)

Awards - Junior Division

First Prize Winner -  $175 Award

Second Prize Winner - $125 Award

Third Prize Winner - $100 Award

Competition Rules

Attention: Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis with a maximum number of applications accepted and observed in each division. Registration is exclusively online.

1. Participants shall enter the appropriate division based upon their age as of the competition date:

• Junior Division:  ages 12-15
• Senior Division:  ages 16-18

• Previous First Prize Winners are not eligible to enter the same division in subsequent years, with the exception of pianists in their senior year of high school who wish to compete in the Senior Division for college piano scholarship consideration and who intend to apply for college piano major studies at Stanislaus State.

2. Competition Repertoire and Guidelines

• Junior Division
  Two pieces from contrasting style periods (eras). Time limit:  11 minutes.

• Senior Division:
  Two pieces from contrasting style periods (eras). Time limit:  14 minutes.

• Note: If contestant’s repertoire timing exceeds the overall performance time period, judges will cut the performance once maximum performance time limit has been reached.

• All pieces must be performed from memory. Competitors must provide original scores for the adjudicators at the time of their performance (no photocopies).  

Examples of repertoire from contrasting style periods (eras):  

• Baroque Era:  A movement of a French suite, English suite, or Partita by Bach. An invention, sinfonia, prelude and/or fugue from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.  A sonata by Scarlatti.
• Classical Era:  A movement from a sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven.
• Romantic Era:  An impromptu, nocturne, intermezzo, prelude, mazurka, etude, polonaise, scherzo, ballade, sonata movement, or other work by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Grieg.
• Contemporary Era:  A movement or work by Debussy, Ravel, Bartok, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Poulenc, Schoenberg, Gershwin.

3. Awards Details

All winners perform in the Winners Recital showcase immediately following the competition and receive monetary honorarium awards.

Additionally, all Senior Division winners and qualifying Honorable Mentions who are high school seniors will be considered by the jury for a Department of Music scholarship award of up to $2,500/year (renewable annually for up to $10,000 over four years) to attend CSU Stanislaus as a piano performance major, with scholarship awarded at time of actual University enrollment.  Qualifying seniors who wish to accept this award must have applied to and been accepted by the University within the application period that runs concurrent to the competition event. Any such winner must notify Dr. Sarah Chan at schan7@csustan.edu of their intent to pursue the piano performance major in the upcoming academic year, at which point his/her competition performance will be considered as the entrance-scholarship audition in lieu of one taken through the normally-scheduled Music Department auditions process.

Adjudicators may elect not to award a prize in any given category should there be no qualified competitor to receive it. All decisions made by the adjudicators shall be final.  

4. Competition Location 

The competition is held at California State University, Stanislaus, One University Circle, Turlock, CA 95382, USA. Competition events, along with the Winner’s Recital immediately following, will be held in the Bernell and Flora Snider Recital Hall (M-6A), located on the northwestern side of the Stanislaus State University campus. Parking Lot 3 will provide the easiest access to this area.

Please consult campus map.

5. Additional Information

Additional questions may be directed to Dr. Sarah Chan, Director of the Sylvia M. Ghiglieri Piano Competition, at (209) 667-3429 or schan7@csustan.edu.

Registration

Registration is exclusively online.

Register Now

Required forms
A Release of Liability and Photography Release is required for each participant and must be signed before participation. The Release of Liability and Photography Release can be downloaded and brought to the competition.

Release of Liability