HMTA Piano Contest – ages 15 to 18
Looking for the younger age group? Click this button.
Event Dates, Times, and Location
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Nov 14, 2026: all divisions (ages 6-14 and 15-18)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Nov 15, 2026: High School Winners’ Recitals
Kawai Piano Gallery, 5800 Richmond Ave, Houston TX 77057
Description and Purpose of Event
Determines, through solo competition, the most gifted young pianists from our association. Competitors in age categories perform two chosen selections from the required repertoire categories. Their performances are open to the public.
Eligibility
Piano students ages 15-18 (age determined as of 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2026)
Registration Deadline and Info
Deadline to Register and Pay: Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
- Teachers will be notified of audition times two weeks prior to the competition. Due to scheduling difficulties, special requests cannot be honored. Absolutely no changes will be made to the schedule after it has been sent out. Teachers’ schedules will be notified on the week prior to the competition.
Event Fees
$46 per student / discounted rate of $45 per student studying with an HMTA member when paying via Zelle or Check.
$113 per student / discounted rate of $110 per student studying with a non-HMTA member when paying via Zelle or Check.
Click the button at the bottom of this page to fill out and submit registration form for HMTA Piano Contest (step 1), AND to pay registration fee (step 2). Please ensure that you do not close your window before finishing the checkout process, as your registration will remain incomplete.
Check payments – make one check per studio postmarked by Wednesday, September 30. Registration fees postmarked after this date will not be accepted. Please start your registation early as you will need the order number (generated at the checkout) before dropping the check in the mailbox. Mail your check to the treasurer:
Sergei Savitski
5707 McKnight St
Houston, TX 77035
Event Requirements and/or Rules
All contestants from age 15 to 18 will constitute three separate age categories: age 15, age 16, and age 17-18. Their performances will be open to the public.
Repertoire requirements for all three high school students’ age categories are as follows: Prepare two selections, one from group A, another from group B, up to the time limit of 10 minutes. Students are allowed but not required to play scales as their warm-up as long as they stay within performance time limit.
Group A:
- Domenico Scarlatti – any sonata.
- Johann Sebastian Bach – any three-part invention, any movement from Partitas, French Suites, English Suites, or Italian Concerto, any Prelude and Fugue from Well-Tempered Clavier.
- Joseph Haydn – any sonata movement, or cycle of variations.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – any sonata movement, or cycle of variations.
- Ludwig van Beethoven – any sonata movement, or cycle of variations.
Group B:
- Any work written by 19th or 20th century composer.
The competitors must bring the original music; however, their names should not be printed on the books (the music is needed for the judges).
Prompt arrival is mandatory. Any contestant who misses his/her assigned audition time will be disqualified.
A panel of two judges will be present at the auditions (open to the public). The judges’ decisions are final.
Teachers’ Responsibility: Participating teachers must volunteer to help with the event, and must meet the minimum 5 meeting attendance requirement. See Standing Rules #1 and #6.
Dress Code
Formal Attire
Awards
For age categories 15-18, there will be only one round, and it is open to the public.
Among 1st division winners, only the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be called back for the mandatory performance on the day of the final round for age categories 6-14 (November 15, 2026).
Special awards will be given to performers among the winners of the age categories 15-18 for their outstanding performances of Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century compositions. Additionally, three-years-in-a-row participants will be recognized with awards.