gene Marcus Piano competition

First-round auditions: Saturday, January 25, and Sunday, January 26, 2025 (or by video submission)

Final round: Sunday, February 9, 2025

Application deadline: Thursday, January 9, 2025

Winners Recital and Awards Ceremony: Sunday, February 9, 2025, 6:30 p.m.

A. Eligibility

• The competition is open to all precollege piano students, ages 18 and under as of February 9, 2025, who reside within 100 miles of Fort Wayne.
• All applicants must have been studying with their current teachers for at least six of the nine consecutive months immediately before February 9, 2025.
• Previous first-prize winners may not reenter at the same division and may enter at a higher division only if age requirements are met.
• Contestants in all divisions must pass the first-round auditions to compete in the final round of the competition.

B. General Rules for All Divisions and Repertoire Requirements

• All performances are to be from memory and must stay within the following time guidelines:
  • Elementary Division (ages 9 and under): 5 minutes
  • Intermediate Division (ages 10–12): 8 minutes
  • Junior Division (ages 13–15): 12 minutes
  • Senior Division (ages 16–18): 15 minutes
  • (Note that minutes indicated are the maximum overall performance time, inclusive of repeats. However, time between pieces will not count. The jury reserves the right to stop a performance if it exceeds the time limit for the respective division. While no minimum performance time is required, the chosen program must be representative for its age division and demonstrate variety of style, tempo, and character.)
• Repertoire previously performed in this competition may not be repeated by the same contestant.
• Only complete, unabridged solo piano works in the original form and key will be accepted; no concertos or arrangements may be used. Individual movements of multimovement works that can be performed as musical units are permitted. Repeats are left to the discretion of the entrant/teacher, but cuts are not permitted.  
• For all divisions, contestants are to perform two or more contrasting works from two or more of the following musical periods:
  • Baroque and earlier
  • Classical
  • Romantic
  • Impressionistic
  • 20th/21st Century
• First-round auditions will take place on Saturday, January 25, or Sunday, January 26, 2025. Contestants may choose to perform their program at that time (individual times will be assigned on one of the two dates) or may submit a video recording of their competition program for review, to be received no later than Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Video recordings must be submitted via YouTube or other online link (see application form for further details). Results of the first-round auditions will be sent via email by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Those selected to compete in the final round will perform on Sunday, February 9, 2025. All live performances will take place at the Purdue University Fort Wayne Music Center.
• Contestants may perform their program in their preferred order; the same program presented at the first-round auditions must be performed in the final round.

C. Application Procedures and Additional Regulations

• Fees for each division:
  • Elementary: $25
  • Intermediate: $30
  • Junior: $35
  • Senior: $40

*Fees are non-refundable.

• Once an application is submitted, students, teachers, and parents agree to abide by the rules and regulations as stated on this website. Failure to comply will result in disqualification and will make the entrant ineligible to receive any recognition or monetary award.
• Contact us at [email protected] prior to submission of the application with any questions regarding the appropriateness of chosen repertoire. No repertoire changes will be permitted once the application is submitted. Teachers are requested to verify that the repertoire is listed correctly before submission of the application.
• Late applications will not be considered.
• The Competition Committee will determine all schedules. It is the responsibility of the entrant to be available for the published dates of the competition.
• By entering this competition, you agree to abide by all Federal Copyright Laws.  For live rounds, entrants are to provide to the competition jury a single hard copy score (original preferred) for each work to be performed.  Photocopies are strongly discouraged but may be used, if necessary, provided they are legal. Measures are to be numbered at the beginning of each system. If submitting a video for first-round auditions, entrants must submit scanned scores for all pieces. Each piece should be submitted as one file and measures must be numbered at the beginning of each system.
• Applicants may not reveal their names or their teachers’ names to the Final Round Adjudication Panel until winners are announced. Students of final-round judges may not enter the competition.
• The jury reserves the right to declare no winner, or fewer than three winners, in any division as it deems appropriate. The jury’s decision is final and may not be challenged by anyone, including the Competition Committee.
• First, second, and third place winners are required to perform at the winners recital on Sunday, February 9, at 6:30 p.m. in order to receive their prizes and monetary awards.
• Competition performances, including the winners recital, are open to the public.
• Photography is not permitted during performances.
• The final round of the competition may be recorded and videotaped for broadcast, video or audio recording use. It is anticipated that the winners recital will be made available on the internet. In addition, camera crews may photograph all competition events. Neither the Purdue University Fort Wayne Gene Marcus Piano Competition nor its assignees or licensees may be held liable for any payments to pianists arising out of materials derived from competition performances. Applicants are required to sign a release form yielding all rights on such materials.
  
  D. Application
  • Submit application.
  • Pay fee. Link to pay is in application process.

Application Deadline
Thursday, January 9, 2025

First-Round Auditions
Saturday, January 25, and Sunday, January 26, 2025 (times to be assigned in one of those days; contestants will be able to indicate conflicts they may have on these days in the application form) or by video submission. See application for more details on either option.

Final Round
Sunday, February 9, 2025
The competition final round typically runs from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.  The schedule will be determined according to the number of finalists in each division.

Winners Recital
Sunday, February 9, 2025, 6:30 p.m.

First Round Judges

The competition first round is adjudicated by Purdue University Fort Wayne piano faculty. All contestants will receive written feedback from each adjudicator, to be sent by email following the first round auditions.

 
Since his debut with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), pianist Hamilton Tescarollo has performed as both soloist and collaborative artist in the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America. Recent performances have taken him to concert venues in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and multiple US states. He has appeared in international music festivals such as Orford (Canada), Eleazar de Carvalho (Fortaleza, Brazil), Cascais (Portugal), Saarburg (Germany), Bratislava (Slovakia), and Ljubljana Old Town (Slovenia). In March 2016, he performed George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium. A versatile musician who performs both the mainstream and the avant-garde repertory, he frequently includes the music of Brazil and other Latin-American countries in his programs.
Also an active recording artist, he is featured in three published CD’s. With clarinetist Jorge Montilla (Professor of Clarinet at The University of Iowa and former Principal Clarinet of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Venezuela), he recorded the CD “La Revoltosa,” featuring contemporary works by composers of both North and South America for clarinet and piano (Clarinet Classics). He also appears in two CDs with Purdue Fort Wayne colleague Farrell Vernon (Centaur Records), containing works for sopranino saxophone and piano as well as larger ensembles involving these two instruments.
Tescarollo was awarded the top prizes at the OSESP Young Soloists’ National Competition and the Escola Municipal de Música de São Paulo’s piano competition and was one of three finalists at the 1991 National Mozart Competition in Brazil. Other distinctions include sponsorships by the Secretary of Culture of the State of São Paulo, the Vitae Foundation, the Arizona Community Foundation, and Arizona State University. A dedicated teacher, he received “Teacher of the Year” awards from the Indiana Music Teachers Association (2015) and the Schimmel-AZ Piano Young Artist Piano Competition (2001), as well as the “Top Music Teacher” award from Steinway & Sons (2016 and 2017). His own students have been prizewinners of many piano contests, including the Phoenix Symphony Guild Concerto Competition, Indianapolis Symphony Young Musicians Competition, Sewannee Summer Music Center Concerto Competition, Indiana Hoosier Auditions, and MTNA Competitions, among others. They also have been awarded numerous scholarships and grants to attend summer programs, such as Interlochen, Brevard, Idylwild, Adamant, Sewannee, and Saarburg (Germany), and have been accepted for graduate study at prestigious institutions such as the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Institute, and the University of Michigan.
Tescarollo serves as Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Purdue University Fort Wayne. In this capacity, he teaches applied piano and piano-related courses and coordinates the keyboard area. He also teaches both young and professional pianists through the PFW Community Arts Academy and serves as piano faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in the summer. He has previously held teaching positions at Faculdade Santa Marcelina, The Municipal School of Music of São Paulo, and Arizona State University, and has also taught at the Saarburg Serenaden International Music Festival in Germany. In addition, he directs the Gene Marcus Piano Competition and Gene Marcus Piano Camp and Festival, presents piano master classes both nationally and internationally, and is a frequent lecturer and competition adjudicator.
Dr. Tescarollo holds Piano Performance degrees from Arizona State University (D.M.A. and M.M.), Faculdade Santa Marcelina (B.M.), and Escola Municipal de Música de São Paulo (Diploma). His main teachers were Gilberto Tinetti (a pupil of Tagliaferro, Cortot, and Wuehrer) and Caio Pagano (also a pupil of Tagliaferro, as well as of Conrad Hansen and Carl Engel). He has also studied with Robert Hamilton, Sandra Abrão and Paulo Bergamo, and has coached with Menahem Pressler, Paul Badura-Skoda, Lazar Berman, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska, and Maria João Pires, among others.

Education
D.M.A. Arizona State University
M.M. Arizona State University
B.M. Faculdade Santa Marcelina

Dr. Jonathan Young is an active pianist, composer, teacher, conductor, and accompanist. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of Kansas, studying with Dr. Steven Spooner. Career highlights include advancing to the final round of the American Prize for Solo Piano - Professional Division in 2021, the establishment of the American Liszt Society's Northern Indiana Chapter, working as coach/accompanist at Opera in the Ozarks in Summer 2018, attending the Bel Canto Summer Academy in Germany as a collaborative pianist in 2016, and performing solo piano at Haydn’s Esterhazy Palace in Austria through the Classical Music Festival in 2013. In concerto performances, Dr. Young has performed Mozart's Piano Concerto in C Minor with the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra and Mozart's Piano Concerto in D Minor with the Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony Orchestra. He is an avid performer of chamber music, vocal, instrumental, and choral music. Dr. Young received his master’s degree from University of Missouri Kansas City with Dr. Robert Weirich and bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College with Dr. Karin Redekopp Edwards. He also served as vice president of KU’s Collegiate Chapter of MTNA, and reviews books for the American Music Teacher magazine. Jonathan currently serves as Lecturer of Piano at Purdue University - Fort Wayne and maintains an active piano studio at the Community Arts Academy.

Education
B.M. Wheaton College
M.M. University of Missouri
D.M.A. University of Kansas

Final Round Judges

The competition final round is adjudicated by a panel of nationally and internationally renowned pianists and teachers. All finalists will receive written feedback from each adjudicator immediately following the conclusion of their respective division. Visit the competition archives page for listings of previous years’ judges. 

ELEMENTARY DIVISION (AGES 9 AND UNDER)

First Prize: $100 award and trophy

Second Prize: $75 award and trophy

Third Prize: $50 award and trophy

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION (AGES 10–12)*

First Prize: $125 award and trophy

Second Prize: $100 award and trophy

Third Prize: $75 award and trophy

JUNIOR DIVISION (AGES 13–15)*

First Prize: $150 award and trophy

Second Prize: $125 award and trophy

Third Prize: $100 award and trophy

SENIOR DIVISION (AGES 16–18)*

First Prize: $200 award and trophy

Second Prize: $175 award and trophy

Third Prize: $150 award and trophy

*In addition, all competition finalists in grades 8 through 12 as of spring of 2025 will be offered a partial scholarship to the 2025 Gene Marcus Piano Camp and Festival.

SPECIAL AWARDS FOR THE SENIOR DIVISION

Winners in the senior division may be offered a scholarship to pursue a music degree at Purdue University Fort Wayne, contingent upon acceptance at the university.

The Gene Marcus Piano Competition is funded in part by the Gene Marcus Endowment, which was created specifically for that purpose. The competition is also sponsored by the Purdue Fort Wayne School of Music and relies on additional contributions to make its awards possible. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at [email protected] or 260-481-6059. Opportunities include naming one or more prizes, establishing a special prize, or contributing to the general operating budget of the competition. All donations are tax-deductible and will be recognized in the competition winners recital program (unless specified otherwise by the donor).

Wilda “Gene” Marcus (1927–2005) was a lifelong piano teacher and enthusiastic supporter of all the arts. She held several degrees, including bachelor of music in piano with honors from Indiana University, 1950; and a masters of music in piano with distinction, Indiana University, 1951. She was a public-school music teacher and later was associate faculty of piano at Indiana University Purdue University (which is now Purdue University Fort Wayne) from 1968 to 1986. She taught hundreds of piano students of all ages privately, accompanied many soloists, and was pianist in numerous ensembles throughout her 60-year career. Her extensive involvement at the Fort Wayne Civic Theater included rehearsal pianist and music director for numerous musicals. She was a former member of Morning Musical Society and patron of Fort Wayne Civic Theater. She was president of Northeast Indiana Music Teachers Association, a member of Sigma Alpha Iota (Music Honorary Society), and Patron of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. She was given the 1994 Teacher of the Year Award by the Indiana Music Teachers Association.

Check out the archive to see past winners and judges.

VIEW ARCHIVE