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DSU liberal arts professor judges piano competition

             Louis Pape, associate professor of music at Dakota State University participated as a judge in a piano competition sponsored by the Sioux Falls Piano Teachers Association at Augustana College in Sioux Falls this past Saturday. He personally evaluated 60 student middle school age performers.

            The competition rated piano players on four separate merits: Technique, accuracy, interpretation, and selection. Ten judges evaluated six hundred students. Each student was asked to play two pieces from memory. One piece was prepared from a selection list and the other piece was their personal choice.

All students involved in the competition received a certificate of participation and were ranked in three different classifications: superior with honors, superior, or honorable mention. The competition was broken up into six categories, two in each of the following age groups: elementary, middle school and high school.

Pape says the competition is a recurring event and all judges involved are highly experienced and trained piano teachers. “All judges have at least a bachelor’s degree or higher in piano,” said Pape. “Some judges have been doing this for 10 to 20 years.”