Auditions: 

    1.    Finalists will be chosen from CD recordings.    
    2.    No changes in repertoire will be permitted from the CD  submitted.
    3.    This competition is open to U. S. citizens, and pianists currently studying in the United States. 
    4.    Pianists will be judged by a panel selected by the American Matthay Association for Piano. 
    5.    The judges reserve the right to withhold awards.
    6.    All finalists will perform from memory.
    7.    Selection as a finalist carries a waiver of tuition to the 2012 American Matthay
           Piano Festival.  However, travel expenses must be met by each individual. 
    8.    Clara Wells Prize winners will be required to participate in a master class at the Festival held on the day following the competition.

                Requirements:  

    1.    Age: Open to contestants 25 or younger as of July 1, 2012.
    2.    Eligibility: No exceptions will be permitted to the age limit.  A winner may renew his
           or her award once, but in order to do so, he/she must re-enter according to the
           rules listed here, using all new repertoire. Persons who have received awards in two 
           Clara Wells Auditions may not re-enter.   
    3.    Use of monies: Awards are for study with an active member of the American
           Matthay Association for Piano. $500 of of a winner’s prize money may be used to offset lodging
          and transportation expenses. Receipts for these expenses should be submitted 
           to the Treasurer of the Association.
    4.    If a winner does not claim his/her award, the AMAP will hold it in
           trust for a period of 2 years.  At the end of that time, if the student
           has failed to initiate (or to further) study with a Matthay teacher the
           award will be forfeited.

            Required Repertoire on all CDs: 


    1.   Four pieces representing different historical periods:  Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and Contemporary. 
    2.   The repertoire must be at least 30 minutes in duration. 
    3.   Individual, or selected, movements of works are acceptable. 
    4.   A transcription may not be used to fulfill the Baroque requirement. 
    5.   One of the pieces must come from the following list.  This  piece must be used to satisfy the requirement from the 
          historical period of the piece.  The Mozart works are from the Classical period, the Debussy works are from 
          the Impressionist period, and the other works are from the Romantic period.

               Mozart: Adagio in B minor, K. 540
                Mozart: Rondo in A minor, K. 511
                Schumann: Des Abends from Fantasiestücke, op. 12 
                Schumann: F-sharp Romance, op. 28, no. 2
                Brahms: Any Intermezzo from op. 117 
                Brahms: Intermezzo in A, op. 118, no. 2            
                Brahms: Intermezzo in B minor, op. 119, no. 1
                Debussy: Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir, Preludes, Bk. I
                Debussy: Des pas sur la neige, Preludes, Bk. I
                Granados: "The Maiden and the Nightingale," from Goyescas 
                Rachmaninoff: Prelude in E-flat, op. 23, no. 6
                Rachmaninoff: Etude-tableau in A minor, op. 39, no. 2


                 Entrance Procedure: 


     1.   All applicants: One mailing to include: 
            a) One high-quality unedited  CD of the above four works, 
            b) A copy of the entrant's passport or birth certificate,
            c) Four copies of a sheet listing the repertoire submitted on the CD.  This page should not include any information about the applicant. 
            d) A page listing the name, age, mailing address, E-mail address, telephone number, and cell phone number of the applicant, and name and address of applicant's private teacher, 
            e) Registration fee of $20, non-refundable. Make check payable to A.M.A.P. 

    2.   The above material must be postmarked on or before April 23, 2012.

    3.   Applicants will be notified of acceptance or rejection by e-mail. 

    4.   Incomplete application material will be automatically rejected. 



    Mail Material to: 


	Dan Franklin Smith
	328 West 88th Street, Apt. 8
	New York City, NY 10024-2226
	e-mail: dfspiano@mindspring.com

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