Introduction
This festival introduces participants to the rich heritage of Chinese music through competitions and scholarships. From a storefront operation at its inception, attracting just a handful of participants, the Music Festival has become a very popular musical event for musicians of all ages in Chicago. Music teachers welcome it; young musicians look forward to participating in it; the packed audience at the Winners Concerts enjoy and appreciate it. Alumni of this popular program have gone on to attend music conservatories, and many have developed successful professional music careers.
Every fall, hundreds of young musicians perform Chinese music selected from our required repertoire, as well as a western piece of their choosing, for a panel of judges. The top scoring performers in each age category play in our annual Winners Concert at prestigious Preston Bradley Hall in the Chicago Cultural Center. We have an exciting required repertoire which reflects the beauty and breadth of the Chinese musical tradition, and will prove to be challenging and inspiring for the contestants.
Below are the main components of the Music Festival. All performance competitions are held on the Competition Day which is usually in mid-October.
The Confucius Competition
Our flagship competition for cellists, violinists and pianists ages 18 years or younger. Each contestant performs one piece from the required Chinese repertoire, and one piece of the contestant’s choice to compete for cash prizes and participation trophies.
The Amei Hu Lin Scholarship Competition
For advanced musicians ages 18 or younger. This competition commemorates the life of Mrs. Amei Hu Lin and is sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Jiumn-Wen Lin. Contestants perform the required repertoire piece to compete for a $500 scholarship.
The Virginia Geyser Behrendt Scholarship Competition
For advanced musicians ages 25 or younger. This competition commemorates the life of Mrs. Virginia Behrendt and is sponsored by the Virginia Geyser Behrendt Foundation. Contestants perform the required repertoire piece to compete for a scholarship of $1200.
Chinese Instrument and Voice Category (CIVC)
In celebration of our 25th Anniversary in 2009, the Chinese Fine Arts Society introduced the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius – Chinese Instruments Category (MFHC-CIC), open to nonprofessional players of all Chinese instruments in any age group. In 2011, we are please to expand this category to include voice. In its introductory years, the MFHC-CIVC will be run in a non-competitive festival manner. Participants are invited to perform a Chinese repertoire piece of their choice, and will be adjudicated by a distinguished panel of judges. As with other MFHC categories, judging sheets will be provided to the participants and participation points will be awarded, but there are no placement awards or cash prizes.
Annual MFHC Winners Concert
All first prize winners of the MFHC Festival Competition are invited to perform at the Annual Music Festival in Honor of Confucius Winners Concert in November, which is presented 4-5 weeks after the Competition Day. At their discretion, the MFHC-CIVC Judges and the MFHC committee may also select participant(s) from the Chinese Instruments and Voice Category to perform at the annual Winners Concert.
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