Atterbury National Piano Competition 2017

Atterbury is once again giving local talent the stage to shine by bringing together the best of the best young South African pianists for the Seventh Atterbury National Piano Competition 2017.

The competition is taking place until the 27 October at the prestigious Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria.

This year the showcase attracted a record number of entries, and 46 participants from across the country will compete. The list of 2017 candidates including finalists and winners of previous national music competitions.

The Atterbury National Piano Competition is the only competition in South Africa presented every year for young pianists aged 19 years and younger. There are big prizes to be won, totalling R115,000. The overall winner will be awarded a cash prize of at least R35 000.

Zahn Hulme, who heads Atterbury Trust, the main sponsor of the competition, says: “We believe that exceptional talent should be developed and we are thrilled to recognise, encourage and support musical excellence in South Africa’s youth. We wish every participant the very best and look forward to a wonderful celebration of performances by the most accomplished young pianists the country has to offer.”

The official opening ceremony took place on Monday, 23 October, where the winner of the 2016 competition, Swunhtat Oo, delivered a short programme. The winner of the 4^th Stefans Grove Composition Competition, Pieter Bezuidenhout and runner–up Xola Wordsworth Matete, were announced and then the 2017 participants were introduced to the audience.

The competition is made up of three age categories: 12 years and younger, 15 years and younger and 19 years and younger.

The competition extends over four rounds taking place today, Wednesday and Thursday, and ends with the finals on Friday, 27 October, at 7pm. During this gala event, three finalists from each age category will compete against one another to decide the winners, who will be announced on the night.

The adjudicators for the 2017 competition are Prof Malcolm Nay, Mr John Roos, Prof Joseph Stanford and Bernarda Vorster.

All rounds of the competition are open to the public. Entry for the first three rounds are free. Tickets for the final gala evening are available from Computicket.