Interested in Solo Piano?
Here you can find all of the admissions resources and fellow perks to studying at the Music Academy with a focus on solo piano
Six Solo Piano fellows experience in-depth coaching with world-renowned faculty artists, with a primary emphasis on interpretive and stylistic mastery of the extensive literature for solo piano as well as concerto repertoire and chamber music with piano. Pianists enjoy many training and performance opportunities, including the annual Solo Piano Competition
Training & Performance Opportunities
- Weekly private lessons
- Chamber Music: Each solo pianist participates in a fellow chamber music group coached by faculty throughout the summer. The group performs all or a portion of a work in a public performance at the conclusion of the Festival.
- Weekly solo piano and chamber masterclass and/or studio class instruction
- Masterclass performances
- Fellow solo and ensemble recitals
- “PianoFest” (a recital featuring all solo piano Fellows)
- Solo Piano Competition, including cash prize and recital for winner
- Perform one of six Music Academy-commissioned etudes for solo piano written by Nico Muhly
Solo Piano Competitions
The winner, selected by a panel of professionals, is presented with a $5,000 cash prize and will will have a work from a noted composer commissioned on their behalf to premiere in recital in the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall in 2023. The winner may also utilize up to $1,000 as an additional award to produce and present the recital in new ways, including the use of technology for sound, lighting, streaming, or recording.
The 2021 winner, Hsin-Hao Yang, will perform a world premiere by Tyshawn Sorey this coming spring.
2022 Audition Requirements
(no live auditions) Video Upload Auditions must include three works for solo piano (i.e. no concertos)
- One work must be a Classical Sonata
- The other two works should be stylistically varied
- All three works must be complete unless the piece is commonly excerpted
(e.g. CLAUDE DEBUSSY Preludes; GYÖRGY LIGETI Etudes) - Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to include among their selections a work written after 1945
Please include a verbal statement answering the following question in one minute or less:
“Why would you like to spend a summer at the Music Academy of the West?”
If necessary the verbal statement may be uploaded as a separate track from your audition repertoire videos.
2022 Audition Video Guidelines
- Video performances must be UNEDITED.
- Each work should have its own recording/”track”; multi-movement works may be on separate tracks.
- Video files must have been recorded within the past year and may not be the same file(s) submitted during a previous Music Academy application season
- Avoid backlighting (do not record in front of a window unless curtains/shades are fully closed)
- Please label video files according to this format: “2022 MAW AUDITION – Last Name, First Name, Solo Piano”
For best video upload speed, we recommend the following internet browsers: Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (the most updated versions of each).
And So Much More...
Solo Piano Faculty & Teaching Artists
Conor Hanick
