durham music teachers association

History

Started in 1989 under the name Alice C Hundley award, it was named the Loren Withers Competition in 1996. Loren Withers was a founding member of DMTA, and a much beloved professor at Duke University. Longtime DMTA member Charles F.T. Nakarai endowed the competition and upon his death in 2010 his name was added to honor his support of this competition. Learn more about these two remarkable people here.

 

Eligibility

This competition is geared towards the motivated middle school student. Participating student pianists must be between eleven and fourteen years of age on the day of the competition. No student may win first place more than once. Previous first place winners may enter the contest for comments only and are encouraged to enter other contests as they continue their pursuit of musical excellence.

 

Repertoire requirements

All pieces must be played from memory. Participants are strongly encouraged to perform pieces that are of contrasting style and mood. If you have questions about repertoire requirements, please contact the Withers/Nakarai Chair.

 

 

Time Requirements

The maximum time limit is 8 minutes for early intermediate level and fifteen minutes for the upper intermediate/advanced level. Students who exceed the time limit will be asked to stop playing, but not disqualified, by the Room Monitor. Short repeats indicated by the composer may or may not be taken. Longer repeats, such as sonatina or sonata expositions, may not be taken. Pieces may not be cut.

Judging

Judges will be engaged to select winners. We work to ensure the selected judges have as little overlap with teachers and contestants as possible. The judges will base their decisions on the quality of the performances, as well as the level of difficulty of the music. Musicality, maturity and mastery will be weighted more heavily than difficulty. The student must present the score of each piece on his/her program to the chair for use by the judges. While we encourage students to work from the best editions, we understand some music is only available online. For music not in a bound edition, please CLICK HERE for the release form to be completed by the student. Judges are asked to be encouraging and uplifting in their remarks. The competition is designed to help spur along middle school students in a time in their lives where they need the most encouragement.

 

Registration & Fees

Completed registration forms are due by midnight, FEBRUARY 28, 2027. The non-refundable entrance fee is $35 per student.An additional fee of $35 will be charged for non-member teachers to enter one or more students. An invoice will be emailed to the participating teacher once the online registration form is received. The invoice is NOT allowed to be sent to parents. Payment must be received within three business days of the invoice being sent; otherwise, the student will not be considered enrolled. Be sure to give detailed information about each piece (exact title, movement, opus number, etc.).  Time requests will not be honored.  Registration forms with incomplete information will not be processed.

 

Miscellaneous

Students are expected to remain for the full duration of the recital, including the announcement and receipt of awards. If a student leaves early, we may consider awarding the prize to the runner-up. Approximately one hour of warm-up time will be open to contestants prior to the competition. Students are encouraged to use this time rather than warming up immediately before performing. If a student chooses to play a scale or chord progression on stage, it should reflect their best playing. The winners of the both divisions are invited to perform in the DMTA honors recital during the Spring Festival, usually the weekend after Duke Graduation (Sunday, May 16, 2027)