The Andrews University Department of Music is holding an International Piano Competition and the final round of the competition will take place at 4 pm on Sunday, March 30 at the Howard Performing Arts Center located on campus. Finalists are traveling from as far away as Belarus in Eastern Europe to compete.

During the preliminary round held in February, 13 contestants between the ages of 15-35 sent video-taped recordings of themselves playing three pieces of their choice, each from a different musical period. From this group, five finalists were selected to compete in the final round.

“The goal of this competition is to promote and acknowledge artistry and excellence in music performance as well as to bring together young musicians from all over the world in an atmosphere of technical challenges, professional development, and artistic recognition,” says Carlos Flores, chair of the Department of Music.

The finalists in the competition hail from all over the world: Olga Sharapa from Belarus; Roy Treiyer from the United States/Argentina; Wen-Ting Ong, a current Andrews University student from Taiwan; Tim Rantung from California; and Ellen Hwangbo, a former Andrews University student from South Korea.

The finalists will be competing for a grand prize of $1,000 plus a future solo performance with the Andrews University Orchestra. The second prize is $500, third prize is $300 and fourth prize is $200.

The competition performances are open to the public and admission is free. 

For musicians wishing to enter in future competitions, the Department of Music plans to hold a competition for strings in 2009, for voice in 2010 and before returning to a piano competition in 2011. For more information, contact the Andrews University Department of Music at 269-471-6341 or music@andrews.edu.