Ghiglieri Piano Competition

2025 Competition Winners

2026 event date TBA.

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.

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

First Prize Winner - $300 Award. Performance in Winners Recital immediately following conclusion of Senior Division competition event.

Second Prize Winner - $250 Award. Performance in Winners Recital immediately following conclusion of Senior Division competition event.

Third Prize Winner - $200 Award. Performance in Winners Recital immediately following conclusion of Senior Division competition event.

Awards - Junior Division

First Prize Winner -  $175 Award.Performance in Winners Recital immediately following conclusion of Senior Division competition event.

Second Prize Winner - $125 Award. Performance in Winners Recital immediately following conclusion of Senior Division competition event.

Third Prize Winner - $100 Award. Performance in Winners Recital immediately following conclusion of Senior Division competition event.

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.

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.

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 for 2026 TBA. Registration is exclusively online.

Teachers of participants will receive the competition schedule via email one week in advance of competition date.
Competition schedule may also be posted online during the week of the competition.

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