Ensemble Festival

The 2010 Ensemble Festival will be held Saturday, January 23, at Sherman Clay Pianos. For application/registration information, click here.

The Ensemble Festival allows students to play music of all genres in a collaborative setting. Ensembles may include any combination of instruments including duos, trios, quartets, piano duets, and string quartets and trios.

OMTA Portland festivals are open to students age 5 through 18. Each student may enter in a competitive or non-competitive capacity. Participants perform or compete within their own age group. Each age group is adjudicated by a master instructor/adjudicator, who provides each student with a written critique of his performance as well as a certificate of participation. Competitive students who give particularly strong performances (as determined by the master/adjudicator) are awarded with trophies or medals.

If time permits, the adjudicator may invite some or all of the students to the instrument for a short master class. During the master class session, the adjudicator may give the student advice on how to play his piece even better. The adjudicator may share information about the piece’s composer, demonstrate how to play certain passages, or help a student fix common technical errors. The master class is a particularly exciting and educational part of the festival because it is held in front of the audience, all of whom can benefit from the master’s comments about each piece.