March 20, 2013

For Immediate Release

University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert

Written by: Kaitlyn Tolman

Utah Valley University’s School of the Arts will present the third annual Rebecca Marriott Champion Piano Competition on Saturday, March 23. The competition — for which prospective participants can still register — is designed to celebrate and support Utah’s musical talent by offering a venue for young musicians to share their music with the community.

“I learned early on to value music and how to use it to create good moods and reach my inner soul,” said Marriott Champion, who endowed the competition in 2011 to recognize the growing excellence of UVU’s music department and with the vision that many more students in the future would benefit from piano scholarships.

“The Rebecca Marriott Champion Piano Competition is currently in its third year, and we are pleased that the interest, prestige and participation in this competition continues to grow,” said Donna Fairbanks, chair of the UVU Department of Music. “Dr. Hilary Demske, Piano Area Coordinator at Utah Valley University, has done magnificent work organizing the event and preparing UVU students for the university level of the competition. There will be an increased focus this year on the community portion of the competition, which covers ages 6 through 18. We hope to see further increase in community involvement in coming years.”

Five UVU students will participate in the competition, which also includes three youth divisions: elementary (ages 6-10), junior (ages 11-14) and senior (ages 15-18). The UVU student competition will begin at 10 a.m. in the UVU Science Building auditorium, room 134. The youth competition will follow, also in room 134, beginning at noon. The university division will be judged by Scott Holden, associate professor of keyboard performance at Brigham Young University; Jie Lu, assistant professor of piano at the University of Utah; and Ning Lu, associate professor of piano at the University of Utah.

Winners of the competition will be announced at the evening gala, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Science Building auditorium. First-place winners from each division will perform at the gala. The winning UVU student will receive a $5,000 scholarship, and the highest-rated high school senior will receive a one-year full-tuition scholarship to UVU for the 2013-2014 academic year. The overall winner of the senior division will win a $500 cash prize; the winner of the junior division will win $300; and the winner of the elementary division will win $150.

The public is invited to attend the university and youth competitions as well as the evening gala. The competitions and concert are free to the public. It is recommended that only those older than 8 years attend the concert.

To register for this year’s competition or for more information, visit rmcpianocompetition.eventbrite.com.

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