Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition and Festival
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The Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition and Festival
The Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition and Festival currently organizes and manages two major events, the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition and the European Festival "Chopin in Cyprus" which includes a world-class faculty, performance opportunities, a concerto competition, and readings with orchestra. Applications to Chopin in Cyprus are treated as a separate program in the dropdown menu to the left. For more details about the program, please refer to the website of Chopin in Cyprus and the application form once you select the program in the dropdown to the left.
The Competition and Festival's purpose is to discover young talent capable of representing the Competition’s values: musicality, sensitivity, humility, constant re-evaluation, ceaseless striving for excellence, attention to detail, technical excellence, and respect for Frédéric Chopin’s musical text. These values are inspired by the competition and career experiences of the competition’s co-founders, Dr. Graciella Kowalczyk, a Polish-American star pianist and instructor, and Joshua Izzard, a leading American former concert pianist and current finance executive and investor.
The Competition offers young pianists an extraordinary opportunity to showcase their talent in a transparent and unbiased competition and to win significant cash and other potential awards for a one-round live competition performance.
The 2025 edition will be held in Nashville, TN, USA in mid-December at Vanderbilt University.
The 2025 edition of Chopin in Cyprus will be held from June 9 - 14 2025 in several locations in Cyprus including Nicosia and Limassol.
Additional information and content can be found on the competition website at www.nashvillechopin.org.
CONDITIONS FOR ENTRY
- The 2025 Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition is open to professional pianists of all nationalities who were born on or before November 1, 2020, and on or after November 1, 1992.
- Competitors may apply to only one age category, and the category may be that in which their age falls or any higher (older) age category (a 15-year-old may compete in the Artist Division if they so choose, for example).
- Application online only at: nashvillechopin.getacceptd.com
- Application deadline: November 1st, 2025. Applicants selected to participate will be informed by November 15th, 2025 of the status of their applications.
- Students and family of Jury members are not eligible to compete.
- Editing and AI (Artificial Intelligence) manipulation of screening recordings are not allowed and may result in immediate disqualification and denial of admission to the live competition.
- All applicants admitted to the live competition must submit proof of age (passport, driver's license, or birth certificate) with their confirmation of intent to participate. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.
- The application fee is $285 ($250 application fee + $35 processing fee) and is non-refundable.
- Complete rules for the competition are available at 2025 Edition Rules.
THE COMPETITION JURY
Graciella Kowalczyk, Chairman
An additional 8 jury members are to be announced in February 2025.
THE ARTIST DIVISION SCREENING JURY
To be announced in February 2025.
THE YOUNG MUSICIAN I & II DIVISIONS SCREENING JURY
To be announced in February 2025.
Alexei Sultanov Memorial Discovery Prize
The Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition only awards one Alexei Sultanov Memorial Discovery Prize, which cannot be shared and which will be awarded in lieu of the 1st prize in the division of the recipient, which can be any age category; the jury may, however, decide not to award the prize. The winner will receive $30,000. The other age category and special prize winners shall receive prizes as listed on the competition website's 2025 2025 Prizes page:
Artist - Ages 16 - 22: 1st Prize: $10,000; 2nd Prize: $6,500; 3rd Prize: $4,000; 4th Prize: $2,000; 5th Prize: $1,500; 6th Prize: $1,000
Young Musician II - Ages 11 - 15: 1st Prize: $6,500; 2nd Prize: $4,000; 3rd Prize: $2,000
Young Musician I - Ages 6 - 10: 1st Prize: $4,000; 2nd Prize: $2,000; 3rd Prize: $1,000
Engagements
The Competition will strive to establish partnerships with various concert organizers and orchestras in the USA and abroad in order to propose concerts to the winner of the Alexei Sultanov Memorial Discovery Prize. The Competition is furthermore prepared to help the winner to find a concert agency with which he or she can collaborate, including the Competition management's agency, Apsinthion Artist Management.
Audience Choice Prize
During the live rounds of the competition, the public will have the opportunity to vote for the winner of the Audience Choice Prize. The performance of the optional work commissioned for the Competition, "Nashville Nocturne" by composer Ashot Ariyan, will serve as the basis for awarding this prize. The score of the work will be emailed to all admitted competitors in the Young Musician II and Artist age categories (ages 11 - 15 and 16 - 33) after admission to the live round of the Competition, and competitors can make the decision at that time whether they wish to perform the work and be eligible for the Audience Choice Prize. The prize will be shared in the event of a tie, and amounts to $3,000.
Special Genre Prizes
The Jury will vote on the best performance of each of four genres: Nocturne, Etude, Polonaise, and Mazurka. Each of these prizes amounts to $750.
TRAVELING EXPENSES
The pianists are responsible for their own traveling expenses.
ACCOMMODATION
The pianists are responsible for their own accommodations. There are, however, a limited number of host families available on a first-come, first-served basis to admitted competitors. The Competition will also provide a list of partner hotels (accommodation at the pianist’s expense) including those potentially offering a discount to competitors.
PIANOS
Pianists will be provided with a list of available practice facilities secured by the Competition in Nashville, sign-up sheets for the times, and instructions to the locations.