Greater Shreveport Chamber: 70th Annual Wideman International Piano Competition

Press release from the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce:

Tim Magner

11/27/2021

     The Wideman International Piano Competition, Inc. (the “Wideman”) is holding its 70th annual piano concerto competition from Friday, December 3, through Sunday, December 5, in the Anderson Auditorium at the Hurley School of Music on the Centenary College campus (2911 Centenary Blvd., Shreveport, LA).  This high-level competition attracts talented young pianists who hail from the U.S. and this year, from 8 other countries.  They attend or have attended 2 dozen of the premier music schools and conservatories in this country.  The pianists range in age from 18-29. You will be astounded at their talent.

The Friday, December 3, 2021, Preliminaries begin at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. with 2 breaks.  On Saturday, December 4, 2021, Preliminaries continue beginning at 10:00 a.m. with a lunch break at 12:15 p.m. – to 2:00 p.m., then begin anew at 2:00 p.m. until 5:15 p.m., with 2 breaks.

Each pianist plays a portion of his or her self-chosen piano concerto for 15 minutes before a jury of 4 judges, who interact with the contestants to give advice and encouragement and to fully test the pianists’ musicianship and stage presence.  The judges are conductors and music directors at notable symphony orchestras and music conservatories. 

The finalists are announced Saturday night and play their entire concertos Sunday afternoon starting at 1:30 p.m.  The judges deliberate immediately following the Sunday performances and announce the winners within an hour.   The gold, silver and special award medalists and honorable mention winners each receive a modest cash prize, but the more valuable and sought-after prizes are opportunities for concert dates with several outstanding symphony orchestras and chamber music groups around the country.

The Wideman was founded in 1951 by Nena Plant Wideman, a highly regarded local piano teacher. For the past several decades, the Wideman has been overseen by Lester Senter Wilson, a Shreveport native and famed mezzo soprano, as the Artistic Director. The current Artistic Director is Alon Goldstein, who was a Wideman gold medalist and then began a notable concert career, performing with many of the major orchestras and under some of the most outstanding conductors in the world. [See AlonGolstein.com] You will be impressed by Alon’s credentials.

The Wideman is presently presented under the auspices of the Shreveport Symphony Guild, Inc., and tax-deductible contributions may be made payable to the Guild, earmarked for the Wideman. 

The public is encouraged to attend all or any part of this special 3-day event. You will be glad you did!  There is no charge for performances Friday or Saturday. Tickets are a modest $10 each on Sunday.  For more details, please go to the website at Widemanpianocompetition.com .  Because of travel schedules, times are sometimes tentative and attendees should confirm them at this website.  We hope to be able to stream the competition live on You Tube.  

Proof of vaccination for Covid or of current negative testing for Covid will be required at the door each day.  Masks are also required to attend because it will not be likely that there will be an opportunity to socially distance.

On Monday, December 6, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. there will be a tribute concert at the same venue to honor Nena Plant Wideman and Lester Senter Wilson and to benefit the Wideman.   It will not be part of the Competition but will include 3 former Gold Medalists who have gone on to careers concertizing around the world.  Tickets will be priced modestly, but for this event are not set by the Wideman.  It will be streamed live and you are invited to attend.

This press release was produced by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.