With these changes, we hope to broaden the participation and attract young pianists at various levels of development who will benefit from this experience. In the Regional Division, twelve semi-finalists will be chosen from the DVD performances submitted with the application. The semi-final and final rounds will be live performances from memory. In the University of Wyoming Division, the preliminary and final rounds will be live performances of up to 25 and 30 minutes, respectively.

Detailed requirements for DVD and live performance rounds are given below and in the downloadable Rules and Regulations document on the Application page. Following these sections is information on the availability of practice pianos and scheduling of practice time on the performance pianos. Details of the judging procedure are given on the Judges page.

Regional Division

• Preliminary Round
  • The preliminary phase will consist of the DVD performances submitted with the applications.
  • DVD performances will be 20 to 30 minutes long, displaying competitor and keyboard.
  • The competitor will choose his/her own repertoire, but is required to select all works from at least 3 of the following 4 periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist.Click here for definition.
  • Twelve semi-finalists will be chosen from this round.
  • Judges residing outside the Rocky Mountain states (i.e. WY, CO, UT, MT, ID) will be selected for this phase and a number/ranking system will be used.
  • Judges will receive an audio track and contestant number from each DVD submission.
• Semi-final Round
  • The twelve semi-finalists will play a solo performance of 20 to 35 minutes in duration, from memory.
  • The competitor will choose his/her own repertoire, but is required to select all works from at least 3 of the following 4 periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist.Click here for definition.
  • Works may include pieces from the participant's DVD.
  • Five finalists will be selected.
  • The semi-finalists not advancing to the final round are eligible to participate in master classes offered by the judges on Sunday morning.
  • Three judges residing outside the Rocky Mountain states will be chosen for this phase and a number/ranking system will be used.
  • Judges participating in the preliminary phase are ineligible to judge the semi-final and final rounds.
• Final Round
  • The five finalists will play a solo performance of 20 to 35 minutes in duration, from memory.
  • The competitor will choose his/her own repertoire, but is required to select all works from at least 3 of the following 4 periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist.Click here for definition.
  • Works may include pieces from the participant's DVD, but may not include more than 15 minutes of repertoire from the semi-final round.
  • The three judges from the semi-final round will also decide the final round and a number/ranking system will be used.
  • The first, second, and third place winners in the competition will be announced and prizes awarded in the Fine Arts Concert Hall following the final round.
  • The finalists will be offered private lessons by the judges on Sunday evening.

University of Wyoming Division

• Preliminary Round
  • The preliminary phase will consist of a solo performance, up to 25 minutes in duration, from memory.
  • Programs over the time limit may be cut at the discretion of the jury.
  • The competitor will choose his/her own repertoire, but is required to select all works from at least 3 of the following 4 periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist.Click here for definition.
  • Three finalists will be chosen from this round.
  • A judge residing outside of Wyoming will select the finalists.
• Final Round
  • The three finalists will play a solo performance, up to 30 minutes in duration, from memory.
  • The competitor will choose his/her own repertoire, but is required to select all works from at least 3 of the following 4 periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist.Click here for definition.
  • Works from the preliminary round may be used in the final round.
  • The judge from the preliminary round will also decide the final round.

Performance and Practice Pianos

• Performance Pianos
  • The performance piano at the Linford Pfeifer Foundation House for the semi-final round is a 2006 Steinway Model B.
  • The performance piano at the University of Wyoming Fine Arts Concert Hall for the final round is a 2006 Steinway concert grand.
• Practice on Foundation House piano
  • At least three weeks prior to the competition weekend, an email notice will be sent to all semi-finalists for selection of practice time on the piano the day before the semi-finals (Friday May 21, 2010) from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. in one-hour time slots. Details will be given in the informational packet sent to semi-finalists soon after notification.
  • Two practice pianos are available at the Foundation House for the semi-finalist during the 40 minutes prior to his/her performance.
• Practice on UW Concert Grand piano
  • Practice time for semi-finalists on the UW concert grand will be scheduled through Dr. Bogard for Friday May 21 and Saturday May 22, 2010.
  • Practice time for finalists on the UW concert grand will be scheduled through Dr. Bogard for the morning of Sunday May 23, 2010.
• Practice pianos throughout the UW Music Department will be available to competitors without appointment from May 21 through May 23, 2010.

The assignment of composer to musical period will conform to the MTNA Composer Classification List with the exception that the following composers will be considered as Impressionist for this competition:

Darius Milhaud
Francis Poulenc