AMTA Piano Festival 2013 Festival Rules

The Augusta Music Teachers Association sponsors a Piano Festival annually that is open to all students regardless of age, ability, or length of study. It is not a competition. Students play individually for judges for comments and a rating. They are evaluated against a standard of excellence, not each other. The goal is to encourage each child in his/her study of piano, to promote excellence, and to help each child grow musically and to discover the joy of making music. Beginning in 2013, Festival is open to students of non-member teachers! We hope you will take advantage of this great opportunity to motivate and inspire your students to further growth, and to further your own growth as a teacher! If you're completely new to Festival, scroll to the bottom for more helpful tips!

1. The 2013 Piano Festival will be held on Saturday, March 16 in the Fine Arts Bldg of Augusta State University from 9:00 am until approximately 4:00 pm. Students will be assigned individual times with judges, and the schedule will be sent to each teacher. Teachers are responsible for notifying students of location, time, rules, etc. 2. Registration materials and fees must be postmarked no later than February 20, 2013. (May be hand-delivered by Feb. 21) The non-refundable fee for each student is $20.00. The duet category carries an additional fee of $10.00 per student. You may choose to do only the theory exam for $5.00. Only ONE check from each teacher should be submitted. No individual checks from parents will be accepted. Registration forms may be downloaded here. 3. AMTA member teachers will not be charged a teacher fee. Non-member teachers will pay a teacher fee of $25. 4. Students will play two memorized pieces of contrasting style and period with NO repeats. Young beginners may play two pieces of contrasting style. Duets do not have to be memorized. Students play in private for their assigned judge. Parents and teachers should wait in the hall. 5. Students have the option of participating in the following skill challenges: Sightreading, Scales, Cadences, Hymn Playing, Theory, and Ear-Training. Information is included in the AMTA Yearbook and on the web here about these skills challenges. 6. The judge must be provided with the music with measures numbered. Students may NOT use photocopies of printed music. Music purchased and legally downloaded and printed will be allowed, but must include an indication of legal usage.

7. Students who choose not to perform, but DO wish to take the theory exam may do so. There is a $5.00 theory test fee, and the teacher must send the fee along with a Registration form. (There is no additional charge for piano festival participants to take the theory test.) 8. Teachers will obtain envelopes containing student adjudication sheets at the end of the afternoon auditions. For more information, please contact Laura Lowe at lylowe (at) gmail (dot) com. ************************ Completely new to Festival? Here is more helpful information. 1. It's perfectly okay to use pieces from the method books! They just have to be memorized. 2. Yes, your first-year students can play! This is a great opportunity to get them used to working pieces up to completion and performing under (a little bit of) pressure. Adult students are welcome, too! 3. Students will not be playing for an audience. They will play privately for the judge. No parents will be admitted to the room. 4. Students should arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their assigned time to allow time to check in. 5. The theory exam is given continuously, so students may check in to the theory room at any time to take their exam. 6. The ear-training exam is given at specific times. Please see the Ear-Training guidelines page. The judges are sometimes a bit ahead of or a bit behind the schedule. Please take this into account when you plan when to do the ear-training. 7. If you choose to do the scales, sight-reading, or hymn challenges, they will take place in the room with the judge just prior to playing the two memorized pieces. The judge will have a form telling him/her which levels you are registered for. 8. Your students should dress nicely to show respect for the judges and the process. 9. Please remember that our judges come from out of town to spend their Saturday with us for small compensation. Coach your students to say, "thank you for listening to me." 10. If your students have conflicts on that Saturday that require them to have an afternoon or morning time, please write this on the registration form. Please don't contact the chairman after having submitted the form and request time changes. Requests made on the registration form will be honored as much as possible, but are not guaranteed.