It’s that time of year when young pianists try their hand against their contemporaries at Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The 14th annual Gene Marcus Piano Competition kicked off Saturday, Jan. 25, with youths within a 100-mile radius auditioning for a chance to return for the finals on Sunday, Feb. 9. 

At the finals, contestants will compete in four age divisions — elementary, intermediate, junior, and senior — with a chance to win cash prizes and scholarships to this summer’s Gene Marcus Piano Camp & Festival. The winners will also take part in a 6:30 p.m. recital, which is free and open to the public.

“The competition is a competition, no way around that. But I think ultimately a competition can be encouraging,” said Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo, founding director of the competition and festival. “It’s all about how you take. It’s about encouraging them to get better.”

Eyes on the prize

Open to pianists 18 and under, the competition is named in honor of Wilda “Gene” Marcus, a public school music teacher who later became associate faculty of piano at IPFW from 1968-86.

Since the first competition was held in 2012, Tescarollo said it’s grown, plateauing at about 50 contestants the past few years. 

The first round sees competitors audition in person or virtually. And instead of just saying yay or nay to them, the judges offer the young musicians advice.

“We write comments for them to help them improve and give them feedback before the finals,” Tescarollo said. “They’ll still have a few weeks to work on things.”

After trimming contestants to finalists, judges used to hold all the finals in one room, but that has changed. Now, finals are held in PFW’s Rhinehart Recital Hall and in another room. This is because the judges try to fit as many finalists into the day, which is about 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

“There is no set number per se,” Tescarollo said of those that move to the finals. “There are primarily two aspects involved. 

“One is, we like the idea of this being an educational experience for the students. So, we pass as many that are prepared for a public performance on to the finals. We give them the opportunity to come, perform on campus with all the finals live on the Purdue Fort Wayne campus. And they can receive comments from the judges. That in of itself is an educational experience. 

“On a practical level, we have to make sure we don’t have more than we can fit into competition day.”

The idea is to finish by 4:30 p.m., allowing time for the winner’s recital. 

On top of performing for a live audience in Rhinehart Recital Hall, the winners also receive cash prizes, with first place getting $200 in the senior division (16-18), $150 in the junior division (13-15), $125 in the intermediate division (10-12), and $100 in the elementary division (9 and younger). Cash prizes are also given to second and third place, and they all receive scholarships to the camp, which is June 8-13 this year.

Winners in the senior division are also eligible for a scholarship to pursue a music degree at PFW.

Seeing friends

While the cash prize is nice, Tescarollo noted the competition is also a way for the young musicians to interact with like-minded youths. 

“Particularly for the camp, because they get to spend the whole week together, but even for the competition,” he said. “In many cases, they keep in touch throughout the year. Even if they only get to see each other once a year, it’s a great way to build that community.”

While the musicians are able to see their friends at the competition and camp, Tescarollo and the other judges are able to see the improvement in those that return year after year.

“That is very exciting and one of the things that is very gratifying about both events, the competition and the camp,” he said. “It’s just seeing their progress over the years. To think we have an impact on their development as young pianists and musicians is gratifying.”

But it won’t be just the judges that can see the progress. The public can also take in not only the winners recital, but also the finals as a whole.

“Anyone who would like to check it out, they can come to the Music Center,” Tescarollo said. “It will be running in both rooms and there will be printed programs.”