First held in 1987, the biennial Piano Competition attracts contestants, teachers, and audience members from around the country and abroad. Many previous winners and participants have gone on to build successful international performance careers. Alumni of the competition include such well-known names as John Chen, Stephen de Pledge, Dan Poynton, Emma Sayers and Henry Wong Doe and in 2006, 15 year-old Denny Liu swept away the competition to seize first place as the youngest winner ever. The 2008 winner was the highly talented young musician, Jun Bouterey-Ishido from Christchurch whose playing thrilled the large audiences. This year, John Paul-Muir, from Auckland swept aside the strong international field with a stunning performance in the Final round to secure the First Prize.

The KNPC Trust is a charitable trust funded by Government grants, corporate and private sponsors with NZ’s most acclaimed concert pianist, Michael Houstoun, as its patron. His commitment to the Competition reflects his belief that “It is by far the best test for young pianists in the solo repertoire in this country.”

The Trust’s primary purpose is to conduct New Zealand’s most recognised classical music piano competition for young talented pianists. It is held every second year over 4 days in July at The Centre, Kerikeri, with its wonderful concert grand Steinway piano.

The 2010 Competition ran from 1-4 July with an increased total prize purse of NZ$25,000. Hailed as the first truly international event, the 18 contestants came from Australia, Bulgaria/Russia, China, Israel and New Zealand.

To add to the international flavour, this year’s adjudicator was Albert Tiu from the Philippines and currently teaching at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore.

See Competition 2010 for results, reviews and photos

The Competition has three rounds and requires each contestant to perform a sonata and recital from memory in the preliminary two rounds with four being selected by an international adjudicator to perform a second recital in the final.

In addition to the Competition itself, the event opens with a recital given by the adjudicator, a master class held by the adjudicator for selected competitors and a student workshop run by a leading New Zealand piano teacher. Receptions are held at the opening and closing of the event.

The Centre at Kerikeri is a new, purpose built venue capable of showcasing both national and international events. The Centre boasts a completely refurbished 30 year old concert grand Steinway piano chosen to suit both the acoustics of the venue and the requirements of KNPC’s piano competition.