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In order to participate in this national competition,
you must have been selected by your provincial/territorial association.

CFMTA National Piano Competition - 2025 Deadline March 1, 2025

1. The CFMTA National Piano Competition is open to competitors who have not reached their 25th birthday by January 1, 2025.  They must be Canadian citizen or legal resident of Canada.

2. Competitors must be students of a member of CFMTA, in good standing, at the time of application and competition.

 

3. SEMI-FINAL ROUND 

Competitors in the CFMTA National Semi-final Round should present a stylistically balanced program. Repertoire should be chosen carefully to reflect the experience and maturity of the student.

The programme must be at the Associate level or above and must include a Canadian work. The overall programme must contain a minimum amount of stage time of 30 minutes with a maximum of 45 minutes of stage time. Stage time is defined as the time between the first note of the performance and when the final selection concludes. Competitors can select movements from a sonata; they do not necessarily need to perform the entire work. Repertoire substitutions are not permitted once the application is received.

An official timekeeper is required and must sit near the adjudicator(s) during the competition.  If the time limit is reached, the timekeeper will show the adjudicator(s), continue timing and the competitor will be allowed to finish their entire program. The official timing of the competitor’s program will be recorded on the adjudication sheet. Any competitor whose performance goes over the time limit will receive an adjudication only and will be disqualified from the national competition. Competitors disqualified in the semi-final round will not be eligible for the semi-final prizes.

The solo program must include:

    • One Canadian composition
    • One major composition from the Baroque or Classical Period
    • A variety of shorter works to form a well-balanced program

All selections must be memorized.

Three finalists will be selected from the Semi-Final Round of the competition to proceed to the Final round of the competition.

AWARDS chosen from the Semi-Final round and presented after the Final Round:

    • The Ernst Schneider Canadian Music Award:  $1,000.00 - for the best performance of a Canadian composition

    • Please check back for more information about awards.

 

4. FINAL ROUND

Competitors in the CFMTA National Final Round should present a stylistically balanced program. Repertoire should be chosen carefully to reflect the experience and maturity of the student. A completely new program must be presented.

The overall programme must contain a minimum amount of stage time of 25 minutes with a maximum of 35 minutes of stage time. Stage time is defined as the time between the first note of the performance and when the final selection concludes. Competitors can select movements from a sonata. They do not necessarily need to perform the entire work. Repertoire substitutions are not permitted once the application is received.

An official timekeeper is required and must sit near the adjudicator(s) during the competition.  If the time limit is reached, the timekeeper will show the adjudicator(s), continue timing and the competitor will be allowed to finish their entire program. The official timing of the competitor’s program will be recorded on the adjudication sheet. Any competitor whose performance goes over the time limit will receive an adjudication only and will be disqualified from the national competition. Competitors disqualified in the final round will not be eligible for the final awards but may still be considered for semi-final prizes.

All selections must be memorized.

AWARDS given at the conclusion of the Final Round

    • First Place:                          $5,000.00
    • Second Place:                     $3,000.00
    • Third Place:                         $2,000.00

 

5. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

a) Each Provincial/Territorial Association will be responsible for the financial expenses incurred during the selection of its competitor. Each Provincial/Territorial Association may choose, by audition or otherwise, ONE competitor who will represent their Province/Territory.

b) The competitor is responsible for booking their own travel arrangements. Travel expenses for all competitors will be tallied, divided by the number of competitors, and billed equally to the Provincial/Territorial Associations that have submitted a competitor.  Other expenses such as hotel and food are the responsibility of the competitor or their sponsoring association.

6. APPLICATION FORM

The Online Application Form is available on the website - click here

Applications will be accepted using the online form only.   

You will need the following when applying online:

*  Application Fee ($250.00) payment options are on the application form

*  Photo – digital copy (1,000 kb)

*  Resume (100 to 150 words maximum)

*  List of Repertoire, in order of performance, for both Semi-Final and Final programs, including Title (complete), Composer (first and last name), performance time of each piece

*  name/address/contact information of your teacher and CFMTA Provincial Representative