Dr. Tzufeng LiuUNM-LA News:
The UNM-LA campus will host a significant New Mexico youth piano competition from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, when 28 contestants ranging in age from six-to sixteen years old will descend on the campus from Los Alamos, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas.
The Los Alamos public is cordially invited to the competition throughout the day. Additionally, at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon the Winners from the competition can all be heard in recital. As part of UNM-LA’s continuing public service mission, both events are FREE and open to the public.
Saturday’s day-long competition is sponsored annually each fall by the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico (PMTNM). The Honors Competition is the major youth piano competition in NM and is held state-wide throughout six different geographical divisions. First Place Winners from each of the six divisions will then advance to the State Finals, to be held Nov. 11 at the campus of the Albuquerque Academy. Students in Los Alamos belong to the Northeast Division of PMTNM, which also encompasses Santa Fe, Taos, and Las Vegas.
Kim BakkumAll 28 of the competing students must study with a private teacher who is a member of both PMTNM and of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), as well as of their local city affiliate. Winners performing Saturday will be competing in five different levels, delineated by age, from 9–and-under through 16 years old. Students and their teachers freely select what repertoire will be performed in the competition, restricted only by set time limits for each level, ranging from six minutes through ten minutes. All competition pieces will be performed from memory.
A wide spectrum of classical music can be heard throughout the day, ranging from Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart and Schubert, to name only a few, as well as numerous contemporary composers of the 20 th and 21 st centuries. The Sunday Winners Recital will feature the First, Second and Third Prize Winners from each of the five levels. The Los Alamos Music Teachers Association (LAMTA) will have volunteers assisting throughout Saturday’s competition and at Sunday’s Recital.
Two distinguished judges, pianist Kim Bakkum of Taos and Dr. Tzufeng Liu of Albuquerque, will be the judging panel for all levels. Ms. Bakkum has been performing, teaching, adjudicating, and working in community arts for more than 25 years, having a vibrant independent piano studio in the Akron/Cleveland metro area prior to relocating to NM. She holds professional degrees in piano performance from Montana State University, Western Michigan University, and the AIMS Opera program in Graz, Austria. She has also served on the piano faculties of the University of Akron and Kent State University. Dr. Tzufeng Liu enjoys an active career as solo pianist, collaborative artist, and teacher, having performed extensively throughout Taiwan and the U.S. She was a Prize Winner in the World International Piano Competition (2010) and made her YAMAHA Young Artist debut in 1999. Dr. Liu holds the doctorate in piano performance from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana.
Highlights of her performances include those at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall of NYC and at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC. Dr. Liu currently coaches and teaches at the UNM Albuquerque campus, along with her independent piano studio.
Both the competition and Winner’s Recital will be held in the UNM-LA Student Services Building. There is ample parking available in the lot below the building (with stairs), or the building is wheelchair accessible from the large parking lot through the courtyard above the building. The youngest levels of the Saturday competition take place from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Levels III through V occur from 1:45 through 4:30. The public may attend any portion throughout the day. The Sunday Winner’s Recital starts promptly at 2 p.m. and will conclude at 3:30 p.m.
For further information, please contact the Northeast District Competition Chair, Dr. Madeline J. Williamson with a message at 505.929.4693 or abiquiumusic@gmail.com.
