Music
CWU PianoFest
2025 CWU PianoFest - Saturday, October 25, 2025
Thank you for your interest in this year’s PianoFest. We are thrilled again to welcome the finest young pianists of Washington State to our beautiful stage here in Central Washington University’s Dr. Wayne S. Hertz Concert Hall. Live participants will be eligible for Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention awards, as well as special prize for best performance of a Nahre Sol piece, along with performance recording, certificate/plaque and comments. Online participants are eligible for Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention awards along with certificates and written comments.
Special Prize: Best Performance of Nahre Sol
We are excited to showcase the inimitable Nahre Sol at this year’s PianoFest! Selections from her solo piano pieces were chosen for PianoFest and we are thrilled for you to learn, experience, and perform her pieces.
- Junior $250 & certificate
- Intermediate $250 & certificate
- Senior $250 & & certificate
We are very much looking forward to hearing your performances!
Sincerely,
Dr. Yerin Kim
Director of Keyboard Studies, CWU Music Department
CWU Pianofest Schedule
Application Deadline: Sunday Oct. 5, 2025 (Live & Online participants)
- Live competition - no pre-screening video submission required
- Online competition - video submission and application required
Live competition at CWU: Saturday October 25, 9:00 am - 5:00 p.m.
- Individual performance times will be sent out by October 18th
Award Ceremony: Saturday, October 25, 5:30 pm Concert Hall
Results for both live and online competition will be announced at the Winner’s Concert at CWU, CWU Music website, social media and email.
Eligibility and Repertoire Requirements
- Junior Category I, Ages 9 and under, 10 minutes
A movement or multiple movements from any Clementi Sonatina AND one freely chosen work OR Nahre Sol’s Coucou Waltz --- Score - Junior Category II, Ages 10 -12, 12 minutes
A movement or multiple movements from any Kuhlau Sonata & Sonatina AND one freely chosen work OR Nahre Sol’s Coucou Waltz --- Score - Intermediate Category I, Ages 13-15, 13 minutes
A piece or multiple pieces from any Scarlatti Sonata AND one freely chosen work OR Nahre Sol’s Pocket Piece NO. 2 "Fugue" --- Score - Intermediate Category II, Ages 16-18, 15 minutes
A movement or multiple movements from Mozart Sonata (any) AND one freely chosen work OR Nahre Sol’s Pocket Piece NO. 2 "Fugue" --- Score - Collegiate/Advanced Category, Ages 19-26, 20 minutes
A movement or multiple movements from Haydn Sonata (any) AND one freely chosen work OR Nahre Sol’s Sideways --- Score
Awards
Each category will be awarded Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention as well as special cash award for best performance of Nahre Sol. Gold prize winners will perform during the award ceremony of one piece of their choosing which will be recorded professionally and live-streamed. Only the Award Ceremony will be live-streamed.
All participants will receive comment sheets with a performance certificate.
Adjudication packets will be ready for pick up after the award ceremony. These packets will be distributed at the Information Desk located in the Lobby. Parents or teachers may pick up packets. Online participants will receive their comments and certificates electronically.
Music Scores
Memorization is not a requirement. Participants are required to present original or certified online sources of their scores to the judges. All measures are to be numbered. Because of the length of some selections, pieces are to be performed with no repeats. Photocopies will not be accepted.
Participants who are performing the Nahre Sol’s piece, scores are available for purchase at the composer’s website.
Registration Fee
- Live participants : $35
- Online participants : $30
Recording Guidelines for Online Participants:
- Please use landscape, horizontal, orientation for your video.
- Profile angles are preferred! We just want to be able to see your hands and your profile.
- We understand a concert hall space and professional equipment is not available to everyone submitting their recordings. This will not be a factor in adjudication. You will be judged solely on your performance and musicianship.
- When you are ready to upload your recording to Youtube, please title the video using the name format Name_CWU_Pianofest_Piece1. For example, for a pianist with the name Kim, the submission titles should be: Kim_CWU_Pianofest_Piece1 and Kim_CWU_Pianofest_Piece2. Please upload your recording visibility as "unlisted" and then copy/paste the links to the Recording Submission page (available here soon)
2025 PianoFest Adjudicators
- Dr. Tina Chong, San Diego State University
- Dr. Alex Peh, State University of New York New Paltz
- Nahre Sol, pianist, composer, YouTuber
Contact Information
Dr. Yerin Kim
Yerin.Kim@cwu.edu
Central Washington University
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