PADESTA Bi-Annual Solo Competition

The Pennsylvania Delaware String Teachers Association (PADESTA) is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for its biennial solo competition. Violinists, violists, cellists, bassists, guitarists, and harpists are all eligible to apply for this event. This competition will determine our chapters’ semi-finalists for ASTA’s national solo competition which will be held in Atlanta in March 2009. PADESTA’s solo competition consists of submission of an audition recording, followed by a live competition. Audition recordings from the winners of the live competition will be sent to the ASTA national competition committee. More information can be found at www.astaweb.com. Click on the competition link.

PADESTA’s live competition will be held in the Hershey Middle School Auditorium in Hershey, PA, on Saturday, October 25, 2009 at 1:00 PM. The following criteria must be met in order to be considered as a PADESTA semi-finalist for the national competition:

• Candidates must live or study in Pennsylvania or Delaware.
• The candidate or candidate’s teacher must be an active member of ASTA.
• Candidates must compete in the appropriate age division (either junior or senior).
• Candidates must attend the live competition if selected to do so.
• Candidates must choose repertoire from the ASTA national solo competition repertoire list if they wish to be considered to participate at that level.

To enter, download the application here. The following items must be submitted to Robert Gardner, solo competition chair, postmarked by September 29, 2008.

1. Completed application
2. Photocopy of proof of age and citizenship (e.g., birth certificate or government-issued ID card)
3. Entry fee of $25 USD made payable to PADESTA (non-refundable)
4. Entry fee of $75 USD made payable to ASTA
     (refunded if not selected to participate in national finals)
5. CD recording of performance repertoire requirements

All materials should be sent to:

Dr. Robert Gardner
PADESTA Solo Competition
210 Music Building I
University Park, PA 16802

Questions? E-mail Dr. Gardner at rdg13@psu.edu.